Photo: CGTN

Szijjártó: Hungary is ‘the safest location’ for East-West cooperation

The foreign minister expressed concern over efforts to see the world divided into blocs again and said those initiatives were "totally against" Hungary's national interests.

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary is “the safest location” for East-West cooperation.

“We offer the safest place for Eastern and Western companies to work together in Europe,” Minister Szijjártó said at the opening of the second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on Tuesday, at which Hungary is the guest of honor.

The foreign minister expressed concern over efforts to see the world divided into blocs again and said those initiatives were “totally against” Hungary’s national interests. Hungary’s goal, he added, was for connectivity to characterise the coming decades.

He said the hope was for East and West to cooperate in a “civilised manner, based on mutual respect and aiming at mutual benefits”, outlining the government’s strategy of economic neutrality, adopted in the context of Hungary’s historical experience and with a view to the country’s export-oriented economy and its geographical location half-way between Washington and Beijing.

Minister Szijjártó said the government’s strategy of economic neutrality dovetailed with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and provided a stable basis for economic growth.

He said that Hungary was now the “number one” destination for Chinese investments in Europe, noting that CATL was setting up the biggest battery plant on the continent in Hungary, while BYD was building a factory that would turn out several hundred thousand EVs a year. More Chinese investments are in the pipeline, he added.

Minister Szijjártó said those Chinese investments supported Hungary’s economic growth, creating jobs, bringing cutting-edge technologies and raising the level of value-added, while shortening supply chains.

The government’s strategy of economic neutrality is “the right one”, he said, adding that strengthening cooperation between China and Hungary would produce a “fantastic” year for the Hungarian economy in 2025.

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