Hungarian foreign minister meets Chinese counterpart

Retaining Hungary’s position as “China’s number one economic partner in central Europe” is a strategic interest, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in New York on Tuesday.

Parties at the talks, held on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly session, agreed on launching a direct flight between Budapest and Shanghai.

The talks also touched on Hungary’s resumption of poultry exports to China, as well as China’s first international import expo, at which Hungary will be guest of honour.

Szijjártó announced that next year’s international telecommunications world expo would again be hosted by Hungary.

He said that Hungary continues to be the primary market for Chinese investments in central Europe. The foreign minister noted the construction of the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line which is a major bilateral project.

There are two consortiums consisting of Hungarian and Chinese firms still in competition, he said, adding that talks with them on the project’s technical and financial details would be concluded in the first week of October.

A construction contract is set to be signed with the winning bidder before the end of this year to ensure that the project is completed by 2023, Szijjártó said.

Speaking in volume terms, Szijjártó noted that Chinese businesses had so far invested more than 4 billion dollars in Hungary. Representing highly advanced technologies these investments will greatly contribute to further boosting Hungary’s economic development, he said.

Source: MTI