China believes the EU could learn from Hungary

While MTI, the Hungarian State News Agency was terse in reporting on the online meeting held between Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and the Chinese Foreign Minister two days prior, Politico noted that Vang Ji praised the Hungarian government's cooperation and held up Hungary as an example to the EU.

According to him, China "hopes that the EU and its members will be able to take an objective and friendly approach, just like Hungary's towards China's development and rejuvenation."

Beijing's words of praise came as the parties reached an agreement on the One Region, One Road Chinese investment project, something other EU members have so far refused to do, 444 pointed out.

After the video meeting, Szijjártó said that his working relationship with the Chinese Foreign Minister, whom he has known for eight years, nowadays counts as extremely long: "We have always understood each other well, and have always negotiatied based on mutual respect, and if we take an objective look back at the past eight years of Chinese-Hungarian cooperation, we can clearly call it a success story."

According to Szijjártó, Hungary has now become the number one investment destination for Chinese companies in Central Europe, which means that "we can successfully avoid" the recession that is affecting the European economy. (The governor of the Hungarian Central Bank (MNB), György Matolcsy, has recently said quite the opposite, and the high inflation rate is no evidence of avoiding a recession in the economy when compared with the countries of the region either.)

The world's largest battery manufacturer's investment in a Debrecen factory will in the long term help to keep the Hungarian economy on a path of growth, Szijjártó said, adding that the Hungarian government is trying to "steer" the relationship between the European Union and China from "failed sanctions back to" a path of partnership.

According to Szijjártó it was time for the investment agreement between China and the EU to enter into force as soon as possible.

"My colleague Vang Ji has done a lot for the development of Hungarian-Chinese relations, and I am grateful to him for this, as Hungary has benefited a lot from this," MTI quoted Szijjártó as saying.