(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, MAY 9 - Chinese President Xi Jinping
visited Hungary on Thursday seeking a "new journey" with
Beijing's closest European Union ally amid divisions with the
West over the Ukraine war and global trade. The state visit to
Hungary is the last leg of Xi's European tour, his first to the
continent since 2019. In recent years, the Central European
country of 9.6 million people has attracted a flood of major
Chinese projects, mostly related to the manufacture of electric
vehicles and batteries. Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok warmly
received Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan with military honours in
the courtyard of the presidential palace in Budapest on Thursday
morning. The Chinese leader arrived in the Hungarian capital on
Wednesday night after wrapping up his visit to Serbia, and later
attended a state dinner with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Budapest was decked out with Chinese flags and placed under
tight security, while Tibetan flags were hidden from sight. In
an op-ed published in Hungary's pro-government Magyar Nemzet
daily ahead of his arrival, Xi praised a "long-standing
friendship" he described "as mellow and rich as Tokaji wine",
referring to the renowned Hungarian vineyards region. "We have
gone through hardships together and defied power politics
together amid volatile international situations. "Our bilateral
relationship is at its best in history, and has embarked on a
golden voyage... On the new journey of the new era, China looks
forward to working closely with our Hungarian friends," he
wrote. (ANSA-AFP).
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