At the “Silk Road” summit in Beijing, Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban met China’s President Xi, who praised him “as a friend.” Orban also met with Kremlin leader Putin there – and also received praise from him.
China’s party and state leader Xi Jinping has praised Hungary for its active participation in the “New Silk Road” infrastructure initiative. “We consider you a friend,” he said at a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Beijing.
Hungary has actively participated in the construction of the New Silk Road, and Sino-Hungarian relations have developed at a high level regardless of the changing international situation, Xi said.
Orban landed in the Chinese capital Beijing on Monday for the international meeting of the “Silk Road” members and met China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang on the same day.
Orban is the only EU head of government at the meeting
Hungary is one of a few EU countries that is a member of China’s Belt and Road initiative, and Orban is the only EU leader attending the summit. As part of the initiative, China is investing in transport routes, building rails and roads or buying ports, primarily in Africa, South America and Asia, but also in Europe.
According to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, China has concluded more than 200 “Silk Road” cooperations with more than 150 countries by 2023. According to official figures from Beijing, China has invested almost a trillion dollars in projects worldwide in the past ten years.
Also Serbia’s Vucic in Beijing
In his conversation with Li, Orban said, according to Chinese sources, that Hungary wanted to continue to actively participate in the “New Silk Road”. Li said China is willing to align its investment and infrastructure project with Hungary’s “opening to the East” policy.
The People’s Republic also wants to intensify the construction of the approximately 350 kilometer long railway connection between Budapest and Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is also taking part in the meeting and, according to Chinese state media, has already met with Xi.
Viktor Orban and Vladimir Putin are both guests in Beijing. Putin praised Orban for the relations between their countries.
Taliban, Putin and other autocrats
China has already welcomed numerous state guests on the first day of the two-day meeting. At the summit, known in English as the Belt and Road Forum, China wants to present itself as an alternative to the global leadership role of the USA. Beijing expects more than 4,000 delegates from over 140 countries. Most of them are emerging countries, many governed autocratically. Representatives of the Afghan Taliban are also expected.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already landed and is scheduled to meet Xi on Wednesday. The conflict in the Middle East will also be an issue. China is an important partner of Russia that supports Putin in the war against Ukraine. China was able to ignore the World Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Putin because it never acceded to the so-called Rome Statute of the Court.
Orban also met Putin
Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban also met with Putin in Beijing. According to Russian media reports, Putin expressed satisfaction during the meeting that Hungary and some other European countries continue to maintain relations with Russia despite the war in Ukraine. It is very “satisfactory” that Russia continues to maintain relations with “many European countries.” “One of these countries is Hungary,” said Putin.
Orban told Putin at the meeting that his country wanted to continue relations with Moscow and economic cooperation. “Hungary never wanted a confrontation with Russia. Hungary was always keen to expand contacts.”
Russian state media also showed footage of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warmly hugging Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller. Orban has repeatedly criticized the sanctions against Russia that Western countries imposed due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.