PM: Hungary determined to push economic cooperation with China

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has come to China on a three-day official visit during Feb.11-13, 2014. The Prime Minister has expressed his strong intention in pushing forward economic cooperation with China.

Economy focused

Orbán emphasized that Hungary has attached great importance to relations with China, especially in developing wilder economic cooperation. The main purpose of his visit to China is to "lift up the level of our relationship, especially in fields of our economy."

During the interview, he mentioned several targets, including encouraging more Chinese flagship enterprises to invest in Hungarian industries, reopening the direct flight between Budapest and Beijing. In addition, he expressed the urge to accelerate a pilot project - the high-level railway linking Budapest and Belgrade signed together by Hungary, Serbia and China, which is one of the important purposes of his visit to China. He stressed the importance of this pilot project, saying "it is important not because the two places, but because this is the pilot project for the future."

Trade volume raised six times in ten years

Orbán pointed out that Hungarian economy has great potential. "If you look at the trend and tendency, the trade volume between Hungary and China has risen by six times in the last ten years, so the tendency of growing is rather ambitious and convincing," he said. He mentioned that Premier Li Keqiang once told him that the trade volume between the two countries may reach 20 billion U.S. dollars by 2018. "I think it is not impossible at all," said he.

On Wednesday morning, Orbán led a delegation with more than 100 companies from Hungary to join the Chinese-Hungarian Economic Forum in order to better communicate with the enterprises from China. A total of 18 cooperation agreements were signed that day. Orbán' said: "Sino-Hungarian bilateral economic and trade relations are becoming increasingly close."

Orbán's visit coincides with the Spring Festival. He wished all the luck and happiness to Chinese families.