China Hungary practical cooperation, quality improvement and upgrading (jointly building the "the Belt and Road", the first site)

More than 20 kilometers south of Budapest, the capital of Hungary, the construction site of the Taoksoni Station on the Hungarian section of the Hungary Serbia Railway is bustling with activity. Chinese and Hungarian engineering personnel are working intensively, with construction vehicles carrying materials required for railway construction passing by from time to time.

The Hungary Serbia Railway, which connects Budapest and Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is a landmark project of the "the Belt and Road" jointly built by China and Hungary. Hungary is the first European country to sign the "the Belt and Road" cooperation document with China, and an important partner of China in promoting the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and China CEEC cooperation. With the deep connection between the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" initiative and Hungary's "opening to the east" strategy, China and Hungary continue to deepen practical cooperation in investment, infrastructure construction, finance, new energy, communication technology and other fields, so as to jointly inject impetus into regional and even world economic recovery.

Hungarian section of the Hungary Serbia Railway——

Effectively promoting connectivity in Central and Eastern Europe

The Hungary Serbia Railway Project is currently under construction, with a total length of approximately 159 kilometers in Hungary. It is implemented by a consortium consisting of China Railway Ninth Bureau, China Railway Electrification Bureau, and Hungarian partners. After the completion of the project, the travel time from Budapest to Belgrade will be shortened from 8 hours to about 3 hours, further enhancing Hungary's position as a transportation hub in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Hungary Serbia Railway is the first project of China Railway Group in the European Union. Chen Zhongliang, Chief Engineer of the Project Division of China Railway Ninth Bureau, stated that the project construction needs to comply with EU standards, adapt to Hungary's roadbed structure, construction materials, and construction methods. But compared to construction technology, the more challenging aspect is integrating green concepts into project construction. After 10 months of preparation, he and his team formed a more than 1300 page Environmental Assessment Report for the Hungary Serbia Railway Project, and ultimately obtained an environmental permit issued by the Hungarian environmental assessment approval department. Suspend construction during the breeding season of migratory birds in Hungary; Assisted in the successful migration of the Hungarian national first-class protected animal, the white shouldered eagle; Strictly complying with legal regulations on material transportation, noise, vibration, and other aspects during construction... Chinese enterprises have won the recognition of local people with their excellent technical level and responsible environmental protection measures.

Adam Lille Ouxi, chief technical manager of Hungary section of Hungary Serbia Railway, said that the completed Hungary Serbia Railway will greatly facilitate the personnel and logistics exchanges between Hungary and Serbia, and significantly boost the economic development of regions along the line. George Batha, who serves as the Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Office at the Project Division of China Railway Electrification Bureau, stated that the construction of the Hungarian section of the Hungary Serbia Railway has introduced Chinese technology and processes, greatly improving the efficiency of railway construction. The Hungary Serbia railway will effectively promote connectivity in Central and Eastern Europe, helping Hungary become a logistics hub in the region. Such international cooperation projects bring good opportunities for mutual learning, and all parties involved will benefit, "said Batja.

China Europe Business and Logistics Cooperation Park——

Help more Chinese companies enter the EU market

The containers filled with goods are neatly arranged, and the recently arrived freight truck is waiting to unload; The workers drive forklifts back and forth, loading and unloading goods in an orderly manner... This is the Chepel Port Logistics Park warehouse belonging to the China Europe Business Logistics Cooperation Park. The Chepel Port, where the warehouse is located, is situated in the southern part of Budapest, adjacent to the Danube River and the Budapest Station of the China Europe Railway Express, with obvious geographical advantages.

Christopher Patey has been working in the China Europe Business Logistics Cooperation Park for nearly 3 years and is currently the head of the park department, mainly responsible for business development related to Chinese enterprises. He told reporters, "Recently, many Chinese companies have settled in Hungary. We hope to improve our service level and help more Chinese companies enter the EU market

The China Europe Business and Logistics Cooperation Park was established in 2012. In addition to the Chepel Port Logistics Park, it also includes parks such as the Budapest Airport Warehouse. In 2023, the China Europe Business and Logistics Cooperation Park will begin construction of the Watts E-commerce Industrial Park, which focuses on cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouse business. The intelligent warehouse project under construction in the industrial park has a storage area of 33000 square meters and is planned to be put into use by the end of the first quarter of this year.

At present, the park has built a three-dimensional China Europe transportation corridor by sea, land, and air. Li Haitao, Deputy General Manager of the China Europe Business Logistics Cooperation Park, introduced that in 2024, the park will cooperate with Jiangxi Ganzhou International Land Port, Shandong Expressway Group and other companies to operate the China Europe freight train directly to Budapest, with a total of 31 trains and 1705 containers transported; Cooperate with COSCO Shipping Group to implement sea rail intermodal transportation, transport goods by sea to ports on the north coast of the Mediterranean, such as Piraeus Port in Greece, and then transport them by railway to Budapest; Cooperating with Ningbo Zhoushan Port, Wilhelmshaven, Germany and other ports to operate the "China Europe Express" service, the journey only takes 26 days, making it one of the fastest sea routes from China to Europe. After the goods arrive at Wilhelmshaven, they are transported to Budapest by railway.

In order to improve transportation capacity and efficiency, the park also operates the "China Europe Card Air", which uses truck transportation to shuttle between four cities in China, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, and European countries such as Hungary. In 2024, the "China Europe Card Airlines" will operate 639 safe trains, carrying over 11000 tons of goods and materials. In addition, the park has also opened scheduled cargo charter flights from cities such as Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, and Hong Kong in China to Budapest. In 2024, 595 air routes will be operated, transporting a total of 31000 tons of goods.

Gaoso Baraz is the Executive President and Business Development Director of the park. When it comes to park business, he told reporters, "We are not just investing funds or exchanging goods, but creating value together
High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation

Realize mutual benefit and win-win, promote cooperative development

The high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" is an important starting point for the continuous upgrading of China Hungary cooperation. A series of project construction has brought tangible benefits to the local people.

According to statistics from the China Europe Business and Logistics Cooperation Park, as of December 2024, the park has accumulated an investment of 171 million US dollars, completed a construction area of 213000 square meters, and provided about 1500 job opportunities. After the intelligent warehouse of Watts E-commerce Industrial Park is officially put into operation, it will also create 200 new job opportunities. At the Chapelle Port Logistics Park, Christopher Patey told reporters that the park has basically achieved localization of employees, with a total of about 400 local employees.

At present, the park is actively expanding its e-commerce logistics business. Li Haitao told reporters that the Watts E-commerce Industrial Park intelligent warehouse project has applied advanced robots and unmanned back-end warehousing technology, and will become one of the largest and most technologically advanced intelligent warehousing projects in Central and Eastern Europe after completion. In the future, the park will provide a full range of services for cross-border e-commerce business between China and Hungary, as well as between China and Central and Eastern Europe, including first leg trunk transportation, overseas warehousing, customs clearance, and final delivery.

High quality agricultural products such as Hungarian beef and Tokaj wine have entered millions of households in China, and new energy vehicles from China are driving through the streets and alleys of Hungary... In recent years, pragmatic cooperation between China and Hungary has flourished. Gladen Papin, president of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, said: "Hungary is exploring to further promote industrial development, especially to strengthen connectivity in transportation and logistics. Hungary firmly supports and will continue to actively participate in the high-quality joint construction of the the Belt and Road."

"Hungary hopes to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results and promote cooperation and development through the docking of the strategy of" opening to the east "and the initiative of jointly building the" the Belt and Road "." Bokoy Marten, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of National Economy of Hungary, said that Hungary China cooperation is in line with the common interests of the two countries. "The smooth progress of new energy projects in Hungary by enterprises from China such as BYD and Ningde Times will provide more impetus for Hungary's economic development."

(Reported by our Budapest correspondent Yan Huan)