Ma Junchi, assistant researcher of the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the China Trade Daily that Hungarian Prime Minister Orban had attended the "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum for three consecutive times. In recent years, through the strategic leadership of the leaders of the two countries, China Hungary cooperation in various fields has been steadily advancing.
From May 9th to 12th, Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, led a delegation to visit Hungary to meet with the heads of institutions such as the Hungarian National Economic Committee and the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. He attended the China Hungary Entrepreneurs Dialogue and the 2nd Chain Expo Promotion Conference and delivered a speech.
In recent years, China Hungary economic and trade cooperation has flourished. According to Hungary's statistics, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries exceeded 13 billion US dollars in 2023. China's direct investment in Hungary reached 7.6 billion euros, accounting for 58% of the total foreign direct investment in Hungary. After 2020, China has once again become the largest source of foreign investment in Hungary. The China Hungary Baoside Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone and the China Europe Commercial and Logistics Cooperation Park have attracted nearly 200 enterprises to settle in, becoming important platforms for China Hungary economic and trade cooperation; Chinese enterprises such as NIO, CATL, EVE Lithium, Huayou Cobalt, and Xinwangda have successively landed in Hungary.
"Investment cooperation is the core of practical economic and trade cooperation between China and Hungary." In Ma Junchi's view, on the one hand, in recent years, China's investment in Hungary has been continuously expanding. Meanwhile, China's investment in Hungary is comprehensive and comprehensive, covering areas such as new energy, infrastructure, transportation and logistics, digital economy, and finance; On the other hand, the Hungarian government warmly welcomes investment from China and provides a positive environment and policy support to attract foreign investment. For example, Hungary has relatively low labor costs and currently only has a 9% corporate tax rate, making it the country with the lowest corporate tax rate in the European Union. The government also provides significant subsidies for foreign direct investment.
Hungary is the first European country to sign an intergovernmental cooperation document with China on jointly building the "the Belt and Road". In recent years, the two sides have signed an intergovernmental cooperation plan on jointly building the "the Belt and Road", established a China Hungary cooperation promotion center, and constantly strengthened and improved the top-level design of practical cooperation. In terms of co building the "the Belt and Road" cooperation, China and Hungary have created a number of "firsts": Hungary is the first Central and Eastern European country to set up a RMB clearing bank, the first Central and Eastern European country to issue RMB bonds "Panda Bonds", and the Hungary Serbia Railway is the first project to link China's railway technology and equipment with the EU's railway interconnection technical specifications.
Ma Junchi said that the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" initiative and Hungary's "opening to the east" strategy are effectively linked, and the cooperation between the two countries in connectivity and other aspects has achieved a series of results. For example, the efficient operation of China Europe freight trains from cities such as Hefei, Shijiazhuang, and Ganzhou to Budapest; After the completion of the Hungary Serbia Railway, a landmark project of China Hungary cooperation, the north-south connectivity of Hungary will be improved, enhancing Hungary's position as a transportation and logistics hub in Central and Eastern Europe; At the same time, China's investment in Hungary has brought local employment opportunities, stimulated local economic recovery, and also promoted exchanges between the two peoples.
"The initiative of jointly building the 'the Belt and Road' is in line with Hungary's own development and regional development vision. We need to expand and deepen cooperation under the framework of jointly building the 'the Belt and Road' to achieve better development," said Gladen Papin, president of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs.
To further expand the breadth and depth of economic and trade cooperation between China and Hungary, Ma Junchi suggests that in the constantly turbulent world situation, the two countries should continue to adhere to the principle of independence and autonomy, promote stable and far-reaching relations between the two countries, and provide guarantees for expanding economic and trade cooperation between the two countries; China and Hungary have strong economic complementarity and should further tap into the potential for investment cooperation in areas such as digital economy; The business associations of both countries should build platforms to help their businesses gain a deeper understanding of each other's needs, in order to seek new opportunities for trade and investment cooperation.
Liang Linchong, Deputy Director of the Regional Opening up Department of the National Development and Reform Commission of China and the first level inspector, suggested that we should deepen the pragmatism of strategic alignment, take the implementation of the China Hungary joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation plan as a guide, deeply combine Hungary's "opening to the east" strategic key areas and projects, and roll forward the updating and implementation of the list of key cooperation projects between China and Hungary, so that more projects can take root and blossom; We need to further explore and deepen the integration of rules and standards in various specialized fields such as trade, investment, green, digital, and agriculture. Through measures such as continuously improving the level of customs clearance facilitation, continuously optimizing the policy environment, and building a convenient and efficient logistics system, we will provide more comprehensive institutional guarantees and more stable expectations for the deepening of cooperation between Chinese and Hungarian enterprises, and further deepen the "soft connectivity" of rules and standards.
