Chinese-Hungarian cooperation is becoming increasingly important, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a video message greeting the participants of the opening ceremony of the Chinese Import-Export Fair in Guangzhou on Thursday, according to the Prime Minister’s Press Office.
Founded in 1957, the event is China’s oldest, largest and most visited fair, and one of the busiest international foreign trade exhibitions in the Asia-Pacific region, held every spring and fall. Hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Guangdong Provincial Government, the main organizer is the China Foreign Trade Center (CFTC).
In his speech to the Chinese Prime Minister Li Ko-chiang and other high-ranking foreign politicians, the Hungarian Prime Minister emphasized that
that the coronavirus epidemic has been affecting trade between countries around the world for almost two years now. According to him, the crisis caused by Covid-19 also showed the degree of interdependence between the individual states and how interested we are in each other’s successful crisis management, both in health and economic terms.
The Prime Minister stressed that the events of last year have made it clear to everyone that extraordinary changes are taking place in the world economy. As he said, Asian countries and companies are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the global economy, capital-intensive Asian companies are gaining an increasing share of the world market.
The redistribution of economic power is before our eyes
– he pointed out.
He reminded me that:
there is a serious debate in the European Union about how the new world economic order should be transformed after the pandemic. He believed the temptation in the Western Hemisphere to re-establish a world economic order based on competition from the great world powers was very strong.
The Prime Minister said:
we have seen this before, he himself spent half of his life in such a world, at that time the West was facing the Soviet Union.
There are many people in the European Union who do not want to live in a world defined by tensions between the great powers, characterized by instability, criticism of each other’s political and economic systems.
We want to live in a world based on trade, security, mutual respect and unconditional recognition of each other’s sovereignty. Central Europe, where we Hungarians also live, has always lost when world politics and the world economy have been characterized by confrontation
– the Prime Minister emphasized.
He added:
Accordingly, we want to live in a world of peace, harmony, cooperation, trade and mutual investment.
It is important for Hungary to participate in China’s economic development, and it is also important for China to be present as a trading partner and investor in Hungary and Central Europe.
China is an essential strategic partner for Hungary, and Hungary is committed to expanding bilateral relations in every possible way, he said.
We are grateful to China and personally to President Xin Qing-ping for involving China very early in its vaccination cooperation program. Without vaccines purchased from China, Hungary would not have been able to carry out the European Union’s fastest vaccination campaign
– the Prime Minister emphasized.
He also underlined that Chinese-Hungarian cooperation is becoming increasingly important, given that China is expected to be one of the earliest emerging economies in the world.
Hungarian-Chinese economic and trade relations developed rapidly already in 2020. Last year, outside Europe, China was Hungary’s most important trading partner, and China is also in the first place in terms of the amount of foreign investment coming to Hungary.
– he stressed.
He said that more and more internationally known Chinese companies such as Huawei, Bank of China, Lenovo, Semcorp, Wanhua and BYD are choosing Hungary to establish their European headquarters, which also shows that Chinese partners value the favorable investment environment and conditions in Hungary.
In his closing remarks, Viktor Orbán emphasized that:
Hungary is pleased to look forward to the further development of Hungarian-Chinese bilateral relations. He expressed his conviction that trade forums such as the Canton Fair form “trade bridges” between Hungary and China, and through them many new business partners can come to Hungary.
MTI
