Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban yesterday to discuss the war in Ukraine and infrastructure projects.
Xi, who arrived in Budapest late on Wednesday, can expect a warm welcome in a country that is an important trade and investment partner, unlike other European Union (EU) countries that are considering diversifying away from China and becoming less dependent on the world’s second-largesteconomy, according to Reuters.
Xi “developed a deep friendship” with Hungarian politicians and Hungary was “the number one target in the Central Eastern European region for Chinese investment,” Xi told the pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet on Wednesday.
Si arrived in Hungary after visiting France and Serbia. In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen pressed him to ensure more balanced trade with Europe and use his influence with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine will also be high on the agenda for talks in Budapest, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at a briefing earlier this week.
