2024-05-09 21:44:44
Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, he announced that Hungary to increase nuclear cooperation with Beijing including the official visit of the President of China, Xi Jinpingas part of his tour of Europe, which also took him to travel to the neighborhood Serbia.
“The plan is that the percentage of nuclear energy in Hungary will be between 60 and 70 percent at the beginning of the next decade,” he said during a joint press conference with the Chinese president, without specifying whether Beijing would participate in the construction . from Paks 2 headquarters, located near Budapest.
The Governments of Hungary and Russia They agreed on a schedule in November 2023 for the renovation of that nuclear power plant, the only nuclear power plant in operation in the country, although the project remains paralyzed, in part, because of the war in Ukraine.
“The fact that China is willing to participate in the development and modernization of the Hungarian economy is a great opportunity for us. Twenty years ago it was impossible to find a Chinese partner with negotiating power in Hungary,” he said.
On the other hand, Orbán is celebrating the “friendship” between the two countries. “Hungary has always maintained friendly relations with China, and has a strong political foundation. “We have always adhered to the one-China principle,” he said.
Likewise, the Prime Minister of Hungary expressed himself in favor of China’s peace initiative in the context of the war in Ukraine. “We believe that the solution is on the negotiating table. We need a cease-fire and peace talks,” he declared, while also recalling that Europe is “on the side of war.”
The President of Hungary, Tamas Sulyok, Xi received this Thursday with a solemn military ceremony held at the Buda Palace. Orbán came the day before to greet the Chinese leader after he landed at Budapest airport.
Orbán is the any head of government of the European Union which is part of China’s major international infrastructure project known as the Belt and Road Initiative. A decade ago, Hungary and Serbia struck a deal with Beijing to modernize the railway between their capitals, Budapest and Belgrade, as part of a plan to link them to the Greek-controlled port of Piraeus in the south. of China, a gateway for the Chinese. products to Central and Eastern Europe.
Xi is the first Chinese president to visit Hungary in 20 years. In addition to the economy, Orbán and Xi share a vision of international affairs, such as their analysis of the war in Ukraine, in which they showed understanding with the invasion launched by the Russian president, i.e. Vladimir Putinwith whom they have friendly relations.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijjártóafter announcing that the Chinese delegation will sign 16 agreements in Hungary on topics ranging from tourism to the economy and energy, adding that the talks will address broader issues, such as the war in Ukraine.
Hungary is important to China, because it is a member state of the European Union. The Hungarian government will take over the presidency of the EU Council starting in July.
Xi himself declared one day before arriving in Hungary that the Central European country “is an important trade partner and the first destination for Chinese investments in the Central and Eastern European region. The cooperation between the two countries is fruitful.”
The Orbán Government, in power since 2010, announced the call already in 2012 “open to the East”mainly towards China and Russia, under the argument that a bridge would be made between the West and the East.
(With information from EP and EFE)
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