Photo: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter
Eurasia
26/06/2024 11:16
Following a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the minister said that one of the important tasks of the upcoming Hungarian EU Presidency will be to develop cooperation with China so that it can finally return to its former stable course. He said it was essential to describe European-China relations as pragmatic, objective cooperation based on mutual respect rather than ideology.
He further explained that the development of the relationship is of utmost importance for two reasons, one of which is peace, as peace is an opportunity to preserve human lives and achieve greater development. In his words.
China is one of the countries that "are the most determined, the most vocal and the most committed to peace".
In this context, he welcomed and expressed support for the Brazil-China peace plan to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. He said it would be worth discussing it widely as it could be a good basis for a ceasefire and peace talks.
Szijjártó also said that since another key objective of the Hungarian EU Presidency is to improve competitiveness, they also discussed the development of economic relations between Europe and China. "Europe's competitiveness has deteriorated a lot in recent times, and we believe that the development of economic cooperation with China would play a major role in restoring competitiveness," he said.
"Hungary is the best example of the results and the positive returns of East-West economic cooperation based on mutual respect and common sense, because the biggest Eastern and the biggest Western companies are working together smoothly in Hungary, and they and we are benefiting and benefiting a lot from this."
- he added. "Therefore, the European Union would be well served economically if in the coming period it were to make its economic cooperation with China even closer and more effective, if it did not take an ideological approach, if it did not seek isolation, if it did not introduce punitive tariffs, if it did not restrict trade, but if we were able to build active economic cooperation that would benefit both sides", he continued. The minister underlined that he had held a number of discussions with economic and automotive stakeholders and that he could see that there were very serious concerns about the EU's punitive tariffs on the Chinese car industry.
China is ready to work with Hungary to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and keep China-Hungary relations at the forefront of China-Europe relations, Wang Yi said, according to Xinhua.
Wang said that during Chinese President Xi Jinping's successful visit to Hungary not long ago, he and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban jointly announced the elevation of China-Hungary relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era, injecting strong impetus into the development of bilateral relations.
Congratulating Hungary on its upcoming rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), he stressed that China has always supported European integration and the EU's strategic independence, and regards the Europe side as an important partner on the Chinese path to modernization.
Noting that China maintains a high degree of stability and continuity in its policy toward Europe, Wang said it is hoped that the Europe side will pursue a rational and pragmatic policy toward China, uphold an open stance and work with China to ensure the sound and steady development of China-Europe relations.
It is believed that Hungary will play a positive and constructive role in the sound interaction between China and Europe, he added.
