Since the mid-1990s, “partnership” has become a frequently used word in Chinese diplomacy. Currently, China has established various forms of partnerships with more than 110 countries and regional organizations. Hungary was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China. On October 6, 1949, the two countries established diplomatic relations. In May 2017, the two countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership. In recent years, bilateral relations have maintained a good pace of development, with frequent exchanges of visits between the leaders of the two countries and a continuous deepening of mutual political trust
On the afternoon of May 9, local time, President Xi Jinping held talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Prime Minister's Office in Budapest. The leaders of the two countries announced that in the new era they will upgrade China-Hungary relations into an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.
The joint statement stressed that the two sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen mutual political trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, ensure that bilateral relations always maintain high-level operations, and better benefit the two peoples.
Photo Xinhua News Agency
Since the mid-1990s, “partnership” has become a frequently used word in Chinese diplomacy. Currently, China has established various forms of partnerships with more than 110 countries and regional organizations.
According to statistics from scholars at the China Institute of International Studies in 2023, China has established more than 20 types of "partnerships", among which "strategic partnerships" are the most common. There are more than 80 partnerships with the word "strategic" in China's foreign relations.
Hungary is the third and final stop on President Xi Jinping's first European trip in five years. According to the list of final documents released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary and China have announced the signing of 18 bilateral agreements to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two countries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban reportedly said at a press conference: "I want to assure President Xi that Hungary will continue to provide fair conditions for Chinese companies to invest in our country. We will create opportunities to combine the most modern Western technology with the most modern oriental technologies connect and establish cooperation in Hungary.”
Hungary was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China. On October 6, 1949, the two countries established diplomatic relations. In May 2017, the two countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership. In recent years, bilateral relations have maintained a good pace of development, with frequent exchanges of visits between the leaders of the two countries and a continuous deepening of mutual political trust.
Observer.com noted that this is not the first time the phrase “all-weather global strategic partnership in the new era” has appeared. From January 23 to 25, 2024, during the visit of President Mirziyoyev of the Republic of Uzbekistan to China, China and Uzbekistan issued a joint statement on all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.
Joint Statement Between the People's Republic of China and Hungary on the Establishment of An All-Weather Comprehensive Strategic Plan
(May 9, 2024)
At the invitation of H.E. Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary, H.E. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, paid a state visit to Hungary from May 8 to 10, 2024. During the visit, President Xi Jinping held talks with President Sulyok and Prime Minister Orbán. In an atmosphere of friendliness, candor and mutual trust, the two sides reviewed the solid foundation of relations between China and Hungary and the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Hungarian people, had in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral ties and international and regional issues of mutual interest, and reached broad consensus.
The two sides spoke highly of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Hungary established in 2017, and expressed their satisfaction with the fruitful outcomes of the practical and friendly cooperation over the years. China and Hungary view each other as a priority partner for cooperation, always respect and treat each other equally, and set a good example of mutually beneficial pragmatic cooperation. The two sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen political mutual trust, and deepen cooperation for mutual benefit, so as to keep the bilateral relationship at a high level and bring more benefits to the two peoples. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary, the two sides decided to elevate the current comprehensive strategic partnership to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era. The statement is as follows:
1.The two sides agree to actively use bilateral and multilateral occasions to hold meetings between the leaders of the two countries, and further leverage the role of the leaders' exchanges of the two countries in providing strategic guidance.
2.Hungary respects the great achievements that China has scored in economic and social development, and hopes that the Chinese people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, will build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, achieve the Second Centenary Goal and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. China applauds the major achievements that Hungary has scored in national development, and commends Hungary's peaceful, open and pragmatic foreign policy and its positive role in promoting regional stability and common prosperity of Europe.
3.The two sides firmly support each other in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. China respects Hungary's independent choice of a development path and domestic and foreign policies suited to its national conditions, and supports the efforts made by the Hungarian side to maintain national stability and promote economic development. The Hungarian government remains firm in adhering to the one-China principle, and reaffirms that there is but one China in the world, that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing China. Hungary opposes all forms of separatist activities at breaking the unity of China.
4.The two sides are willing to promote high-level exchanges, intensify the exchanges and cooperation between the central and local governments, legislatures, and political parties of the two countries at all levels, strengthen experience sharing on governance, and further enhance strategic and political mutual trust.
5.The two sides agreed that their cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has yielded fruitful results, and that the BRI has played a positive role in promoting economic development and improving people's livelihood in both countries. In order to enrich the China-Hungary all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era, the two sides are committed to enhancing synergy between the BRI and Hungary's "Eastern Opening" policy. Leveraging mechanisms and platforms such as the China-Hungary Inter-Governmental Belt and Road Cooperation Committee and the Belt and Road Cooperation Promotion Center, the two sides will pursue deeper and more substantive progress in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, jointly ensure the safety and security and smooth progress of relevant cooperation projects between the two countries, and strive for more fruitful results in practical cooperation. The two sides will further strengthen exchanges and cooperation on economic development policies, and promote the sharing of best practices and experience in key areas.
6.The Hungarian side appreciates the positive role that Chinese enterprises have played in the national development of Hungary, welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Hungary, and is willing to foster a favorable investment and business environment for them. The two sides acknowledge that Hungary has favorable endowments to provide a meeting point for Eastern and Western economies and technologies. The Chinese side will continue to encourage capable Chinese enterprises to invest in Hungary. The two sides will promote orderly cooperation in emerging fields including clean energy, artificial intelligence, mobile communication technology and nuclear energy and technology. The Hungary-Serbia Railway is a landmark project under Belt and Road cooperation, and also a flagship project of Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC Cooperation). The two sides are willing to actively promote the construction of the Hungarian section of the Hungary-Serbia Railway, and jointly promote high-level connectivity in Central and Eastern Europe. The two sides are willing to actively support the sound and steady development of the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, and promote connectivity and trade between China and Hungary.
7.The two sides agreed that Chinese modernization will bring new opportunities for economic cooperation and trade between the two countries, and that stronger practical cooperation and closer economic ties serve the fundamental interests for the two peoples of China and Hungary. The two sides will make full use of the China-Hungary Economic Joint Committee and its affiliated working groups on e-commerce and trade, support greater exchanges between trade, investment and industrial promotion agencies as well as business chambers and associations of the two sides, deepen cooperation in digital economy and green development, foster new drivers of trade and economic growth, expand the scope and depth of economic and trade cooperation, and jointly safeguard the stability and security of industrial and supply chains.
8.The two sides spoke highly of the development of the China-Europe Railway Express between China and Hungary, and agreed to establish an inter-governmental cooperation mechanism on the China-Europe Railway Express, promote infrastructure connectivity, and jointly take practical measures to ensure the security of the transport routes and improve the quality and efficiency of the China-Europe Railway Express, so as to provide important support for deepening economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
9.The Chinese side appreciates Hungary's active participation in the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the China Import and Export Fair and the China-CEEC Expo. China unequivocally supports Hungarian enterprises in taking a bigger part in all kinds of economic and trade expos and fairs held in China. The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation on the facilitation of customs clearance of the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line to facilitate cross-border trade. The Chinese side welcomes more quality products and eligible enterprises of Hungary to enter the Chinese market.
10. The two sides recognized the huge potential in agricultural cooperation between the two countries and the sound progress made under the framework of the China-CEEC agricultural cooperation mechanism. The two sides will give full play to the role of the China-Hungary high-level working group on agriculture and other mechanisms, in order to strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation between agricultural enterprises of both sides, widening market access, promote the cooperation of “small and beautiful” projects, and strengthen cooperation in areas such as animal health and joint research and development of deep processing technologies for agricultural products. The two sides agree to establish a working group between the relevant authorities in order to enhance technical exchanges on zoning and compartmentalisation, initiate structured dialogue and promote to achieve a zoning and compartmentalisation agreement in case of animal diseases in an early manner.
11. The two sides will further deepen cooperation on finance, encourage financial institutions of both sides to provide financing support and financial services for trade and investment cooperation, further tap the cooperation potential in green finance and other fields, and continue to jointly issue green Panda bonds. The Hungarian side appreciates the valuable fiscal and financial support of China. The Chinese side supports Chinese financial institutions in setting up branches in Hungary in compliance with regulatory requirements.
12. The two sides are willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation on land and spatial planning, promote the establishment of a regular communication and exchange mechanism, jointly explore ways to promote high-quality development through high-level environmental protection, and jointly address new challenges on the fronts of globalization, urbanization, the green and low-carbon transition, and sustainable development.
13. The two sides are committed to expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, jointly host commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary in 2024, and continuously consolidate the friendship between the two peoples and the popular foundation of bilateral relations. The two sides will support exchanges and cooperation between the China Cultural Center in Budapest, the Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center in Beijing and their respective domestic cultural institutions, art academies and groups, and vocational colleges of culture and art, support holding art projects and exhibitions in each other's country, and encourage the translation, publishing and promotion of literary works.
14. The two sides will strengthen coordination and communication on tourism policies, jointly develop tourism routes and design tourism products, to promote the rapid recovery and healthy development of the tourist industry. The Hungarian side highly commends China's implementation of a visa-free policy for Hungary on a trial basis. The Chinese side highly commends the new visa facilitation measures for the management and qualified experts of large key Chinese companies investing in Hungary. The two sides are willing to further enhance their respective levels of visa facilitation and create more favorable conditions for two-way travels in the framework of applicable international and national obligations. The two sides support airline companies of the two countries in increasing direct flights between China and Hungary in accordance with market demand giving further boost to the development of business, tourism and people-to-people contacts.
15. The two sides will further strengthen cooperation in education, support more exchanges between universities and think tanks of the two countries, encourage educational institutions of the two countries to carry out joint research and training projects, and support two-way exchanges of young students. The two sides agreed to give full play to the role of the Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school and the Confucius Institutes set up in Hungary, and the Hungarian language courses at Chinese universities, continue to support the youth of the two countries in learning each other's language, and deepen cooperation in language teaching.
16. The two sides will deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in scientific and technological innovation. The two sides agreed to hold a new regular session of the China-Hungary Science and Technology Cooperation Committee within this year, continue to expand people-to-people exchanges on science and technology, strengthen the building of joint scientific research platforms, and further tap the cooperation potential in basic research, applied research and the application of scientific and technological research outcomes.
17. The two sides attach great importance to the health and well-being of the people, and their cooperation on fighting COVID-19 had been pacesetting in the world. The two sides will deepen cooperation on health and work for improved global governance on public health. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in areas such as health policy, prevention and control of infectious diseases and non-infectious chronic diseases, digital health, human resources for health, medical research and traditional medicine. Both sides support the promotion and application of traditional Chinese medicine in Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe.
18. The two sides will continue to promote friendship of sister cities, facilitate friendly exchanges between the youth of the two countries, and expand exchanges and cooperation in such fields as sports, film and television, and media.
19. The two sides share the view that China-CEEC Cooperation has effectively promoted practical cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and has become an important platform for China and Central and Eastern European countries to deepen friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation as well as a useful complement to China-Europe and China-Hungary relations. In keeping with major initiatives of the EU, China-CEEC Cooperation has facilitated the development of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. The Chinese side appreciates the contribution made by the Hungarian side to the development of China-CEEC Cooperation, and supports the Hungarian side in playing a more important role in finance, transportation, tourism, health, science and technology, people-to-people exchanges, environment, business and other areas of cooperation within the China-CEEC Cooperation mechanism. The two sides stand ready to strengthen communication and coordination based on the principle of openness, inclusiveness and mutual benefit to jointly push for new and greater progress in China-CEEC Cooperation.
20. China reaffirms its commitment to the development of China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, encourages high-level exchanges in order to promote convergence of views on strategic issues, increase human exchanges, jointly address global challenges and promote economic cooperation in a proactive and balanced manner. Hungary, as a Member State of the European Union, shares these guidelines and will make its contribution to them.
21. The two sides underline the importance of settling disputes between States peacefully through dialogue and consultations. Hungary pays particular attention to the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China. The two sides reaffirm the importance of global security and peace. The two sides reaffirm that they will jointly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, work for a just and more equitable international order, and firmly safeguard world peace and stability.
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