Minister Szijjártó: Hungary ‘number one’ destination for Chinese investment in Europe

Hungary is now the “number one” destination for Chinese investment in Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing on Tuesday.

In a statement issued by his ministry, Szijjarto said further developing bilateral cooperation was important to both the governments of China and Hungary. He added that Hungary had profited much from that cooperation, noting that the country was the destination for 44pc of all Chinese investments in Europe last year.

He said Chinese companies are investing more than HUF 4,000bn (EUR 9.97bn) in Hungary. Those projects will create tens of thousands of jobs and ensure a base for economic growth in the coming years.

He said talks had started on boosting the number of weekly direct flights between China and Hungary from 21 at present. He added that the number of guest nights spent by Chinese tourists in Hungary was now over the pre-pandemic peak.

He said another Confucius Institute, the sixth in Hungary, would open at the University of Győr.

He said a work group for agricultural cooperation had held its first meeting to discuss a regionalisation agreement that could prevent a complete halt of exports of poultry or pork if only limited areas of the country were affected by outbreaks of avian influenza or African swine fever.

He mentioned the upgrade of the Budapest-Belgrade rail line in partnership with Serbia and China and said Europe’s biggest border crossing would be built in Röszke, on the border with Serbia. He added that a trilateral cooperation would also be the best way to build a crude pipeline between Hungary and Serbia.

He warned that the European Union’s punitive tariffs on Chinese EVs were a threat to Europe’s economy and competitiveness and said European-Chinese cooperation should be improved through negotiations.

Addressing the war in Ukraine, Szijjártó said the sides agreed that an escalation had to be avoided.

As we wrote today, Szijjártó addressed the second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing. Details are HERE.

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