Hungary beats the West: China pours billions into Budapest as air links and jobs soar

Hungary is gaining handsomely from economic ties with China, which serve as a prime example of civilised cooperation between Eastern and Western companies, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Sunday.

Hungary is in a constant competition with Western European countries for Chinese investments, Szijjártó said at the Budapest reception of the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress.

“So far we have proven adept in this fight,” he said, mentioning that one-third of Chinese investments in Europe were made in Hungary last year, while four of the five largest Chinese corporate investments in Europe were underway here.

The projects helped Hungary to stay at the cutting edge of the world technological revolution, he added. Chinese investments, he said, had added thousands of new jobs in recent years, were in the technological vanguard, and contributed to one export record after another.

Also, no other central European city, including Vienna, “has so many air connections with major Chinese cities”, Szijjártó said, noting that 21 flights connect Budapest to big Chinese cities each week.

Hopefully, business around the world would be carried out in a calm and fair way in the future, and the world would not again fall into blocs, the minister said.

Read more about China-Hungary relations on Daily News Hungary!

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