Orbán: Hungary Will Be China’s ‘Trusted Friend and Partner’ in the EU

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is attending China’s Belt and Road Forum for the third time, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed that the two nations should “enjoy the development opportunities and achievements together” as they continue to support one other.

During the meeting, the leaders discussed the construction of the Hungary-Serbia Railway, part of China’s Belt and Road projects in Europe. China also signed a contract with Serbia to export China’s high-speed train carriage for the same project, marking the first export of its kind to Europe, according to China News.

Orbán echoed the message from Xi, claiming that the railway project would “significantly facilitate” Hungary’s economic growth, according to the same report from Xin Hua News, and that Hungary will “continue to be a trusted friend and partner for China in the EU.”

Orbán also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the forum and reaffirmed ties between the two countries, according to Reuters.

In an answer given to the MTI news agency, Orbán’s press chief Bertalan Havasi stated that the two leaders discussed Hungarian-Russian cooperation in the fields of gas and oil supplies and nuclear energy.

Hungary has opposed Western sanctions on Russian gas exports, with Orban remarking in 2022 that the EU “shot itself in the lungs” over the imposition of sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

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