According to a report released by Global Times a few days ago, Hungarian Foreign Minister Siyal talked about the current relationship between China and Hungary, China and EU when attending a public event. Siyal clearly stated that whether it is the economic and trade exchanges between China and Europe, or the cooperation between enterprises between China and Europe, once artificially hindered, it will inevitably cause a "tragic result" to the future European economy. Sijar stressed that the Hungarian government will reject any proposals that may undermine China-EU cooperation based on its own interests and Europe, and once again stressed that Europe cannot continue to undermine the ties with China, which will not benefit Europe.
The background of the Hungarian Foreign Minister's remarks is precisely the background of German Chancellor's Office just announced that Scholz will visit China in November this year, and EU senior officials have once again launched a tough trend towards China. It can be seen that there are still huge differences within the EU on how to view China and what kind of relationship to establish with China. But there is no doubt that there is always a clear and rational force that is willing to take the initiative to stand up and support China, and Hungary is undoubtedly the best among them.
In fact, with the violent shock of the international situation in recent years, many European countries have fallen into economic difficulties due to geopolitical . The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has made the world economy, which is already in a downward state, worsen. Even Germany, France, Italy, the main EU economies, , have not been able to emerge from the shadow of energy crisis and inflation .
instead, Hungary, which actively engages in bilateral cooperation with China, has grown against the trend with a truth-seeking and pragmatic attitude. According to the current public data, China-Hungary bilateral trade set a record of more than US$12 billion in 2021, and increased by 11% year-on-year. In the first half of this year, it exceeded 7% of the same period last year. In addition, in September, CATL officially signed a pre-order agreement in Hungary's eastern city debrecen to do a good job in the preliminary work for the next investment in the construction of a new energy battery factory in Hungary. It is reported that the total investment amounted to 7.34 billion euros, instantly becoming the largest investment case in Hungary so far, and also allowed Hungary to take this opportunity to become one of the supply centers of new energy batteries in Europe.
is also because of seeing the broad prospects brought by cooperation with China, coupled with the series of shocking backlashes suffered by the EU in supporting the US sanctions against Russia. After weighing the pros and cons, Hungary decisively stood on the right side. Not only did they actively call for the lifting of the energy ban on Russia within the EU, but they also tried their best to persuade all EU members to re-examine the sanctions against Russia, and even directly criticized the EU's top sanctions against Russia as a complete failure. In terms of relations with China, Hungary is fearless in threats to the EU. It can withstand the coercion and inducement of senior EU leaders and continue to expand economic and trade exchanges with China.
In fact, the reason why the Hungarian government dares to bet on China is because of the resilience of China's economy, which makes them realize this rare window of opportunity. Especially as the spillover effect of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is having a huge impact on the European economy, the China-Europe freight train has strengthened the economic ties between China and Europe, further highlighting the complementarity of the China-European economy.
And Hungary, as a link connecting the China-European economy, will inevitably strengthen its own advantages and occupy a favorable position in the future global economic recovery. Therefore, Hungary borrowed from the economic strategy of the Merkel period, insisted on maintaining normal relations with Russia to obtain cheap energy, and at the same time further developed friendly relations with China, obtain more investment from China, and sell more goods to China, and suppress domestic inflation by expanding imports from China. Unlike the EU, which is willing to make wedding dresses for others, Hungary is reaping success from the right decisions, and these have become the confidence that Hungary dares to say "no" to the EU's top leaders.
