‘China-friendly’ Hungary hails Beijing’s peace efforts in Ukraine during meeting between top diplomats

Foreign affairs chief Wang Yi calls on Europe to avoid ‘bloc confrontations’ and ‘Cold War mentality’ during visit by Hungarian foreign minister
Budapest is seen as key Beijing ally in EU and major player in Belt and Road Initiative, receiving record amount of Chinese investment last year

China-EU relations

Kawala Xie

Published: 9:00pm, 16 May 2023

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China called on Europe to avoid “bloc confrontations” while Hungary vowed support for China’s peace efforts in Ukraine during talks at the start of Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto’s visit to China.

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi hailed Hungary’s “China-friendly” policy in a Monday meeting with Szijjarto, who is on an official visit to China this week.

Wang said Beijing was willing to work with Hungary and other European Union members to promote “just and reasonable” development of the global governance system.

“China supports Europe’s strategic autonomy. Returning to the ‘Cold War mentality’ and creating bloc confrontations are harmful to the long-term development of Europe,” a Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted Wang as saying.

“China is willing to work with EU countries, including Hungary, to jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism, push forward the process of democratisation of international relations, and promote the development of the global governance system in a more just and reasonable direction.”

In a video posted on Facebook, Szijjarto said China-Hungary relations had strengthened during a “challenging period”.

He also expressed “wholehearted support” for China’s peace plan for Ukraine. In an earlier meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, Szijjarto praised China’s peace efforts, saying the two countries were working together to create conditions for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

“We must constantly strengthen the voice of the peace camp so that it becomes clear that the global majority is indeed in favour of peace. And China certainly has a key role in strengthening the voice of the peace camp,” he said, according to the Hungarian foreign ministry.

“We value China’s efforts for peace in the past. We value the peace plan that China put on the table.”

China’s Ukraine peace plan: what does it say and can it work?

Qin said ties between China and Hungary could “stand the test” and the two countries would continue to strengthen their strategic trust and jointly face “risks and challenges”.

He also praised Hungary’s support for the third China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) Expo, now under way in the eastern city of Ningbo.

The trade expo, which Szijjarto and his delegation attended, has been held since China launched its 16+1 cooperation initiative with 16 Central and Eastern European countries in 2012. The initiative later stalled after Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia quit amid growing tensions between China and EU members over Taiwan and Ukraine.

China touts belt and road to ‘illiberal’ Hungary as mood sours in Europe

However, Hungary has remained active in the 16+1 group and the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure plan to connect China and Europe, and ties between Budapest and Beijing have developed steadily in recent years.

Hungary received US$7.6 billion in belt and road investment last year – more than any other country – despite a multiyear downward trend in Chinese investment in Europe.

The record amount was thanks to Chinese battery giant CATL’s new plant in eastern Hungary. In a meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday, Szijjarto announced another €3 billion (US$3.26 billion) in Chinese investment had been earmarked for Hungary’s automotive industry.

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On Monday, Szijjarto also met top Chinese executives, including those from Huawei Technologies, which is largely banned from 5G infrastructure rollouts in major Western countries because of perceived national security risks. Hungary is home to Huawei’s biggest overseas supply centre.

“We continue to maintain our position towards global telecommunications suppliers, that no one should be excluded from the competition based on their country of origin,” Szijjarto wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting.

Hungary is seen as the most “China-friendly” country in the EU as the bloc remains divided on its policy towards Beijing amid calls to “de-risk” economic ties and scepticism over China’s position on Ukraine.

Before leaving for China, Szijjarto said Europe should not be “held hostage by a war psychosis” or let its relations with China “be poisoned”.

“We don’t see China as a risk, but as a country with which cooperation offers us immense opportunities,” he said.