BEIJING, May 10, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- President Xi Jinping left Budapest on Friday, wrapping up his fruitful
three-nation Europe visit, which
both Chinese and European analysts believe injects momentum into
China-Europe relations as well as future
multipolarity and global stability.
At a farewell event held by Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orban and his wife on Friday,
Xi said China is now advancing the
great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through
Chinese modernization, and China's
high-quality development and opening-up will provide more
opportunities for Hungary.
On Thursday, China and
Hungary decided to elevate
bilateral relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic
partnership for the new era. To enrich the new relationship, the
two sides are committed to enhancing synergy between the Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI) and Hungary's "Eastern Opening" policy, said a
joint statement released after Xi's meeting with Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orban.
According to the statement, the two sides will further deepen
cooperation on finance, encourage financial institutions of both
sides to provide financing support and financial services for trade
and investment cooperation, further tap the cooperation potential
in green finance and other fields, and continue to jointly issue
green Panda bonds. They will also strengthen exchanges and
cooperation on land and spatial planning, expand cultural and
people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and strengthen
coordination and communication on tourism policies.
"In a world clouded by the threat of protectionism and economic
decoupling disguised as de-risking, economic and trade cooperation
needs a surrounding atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. The now
elevated strategic partnership between China and Hungary can generate not only such a solid
atmosphere, but also the solid ground for long-term secure
investment environment," Zoltan Kiszelly, director for political
analysis of the Budapest-based
political think tank Szazadveg Foundation, told the Global
Times.
Hungary was the last leg of
Xi's Europe visit, which also
included France and Serbia. This
is the first time in five years that Xi has visited Europe, and each stop during the trip had its
own highlights and memorable moments.
In Serbia, Xi was greeted by thousands of Serbians in
Belgrade. President Xi and Serbian
President Aleksandar Vucic signed a
joint statement on the building of a China-Serbia community with a
shared future in the new era, making Serbia the first European
country to build such a community with China. In the joint statement, the two
countries decided to deepen and elevate the China-Serbia
comprehensive strategic partnership.
On his first day in France,
President Xi said during a trilateral meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen that
China-EU cooperation is "complementary and mutually beneficial" in
essence. China-EU relations enjoy a strong endogenous driving force
and bright prospects for development, and this relationship does
not target any third party, nor should it be dependent on or
dictated by any third party, Xi added.
Xi and Macron also held talks at the Elysee Palace. President Xi
said that the two sides should stay committed to the spirit that
guided the establishment of their diplomatic ties, namely,
independence, mutual understanding, long-term vision and mutual
benefit, and enrich it with new features of the new era. Xi and
Macron also reached agreements to strengthen cooperation among
small and medium-sized enterprises.
The next day, amid falling snow in the picturesque mountains in
the Hautes-Pyrenees Department in southwestern France, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were
warmly received by Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at a
mountain restaurant for a closed meeting. Experts believe that this
personal touch marks a new climax in high-level exchanges that can
boost mutual trust and understanding.
Building trust
President Xi's Europe trip was
preceded by a series of visits from European leaders to
China this year - German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the prime
ministers of Belgium and
the Netherlands. Serbian President
Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Orban both participated in the
third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation when they
held bilateral talks with President Xi.
Zivadin Jovanovic, president of
the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals, who served as the
minister of foreign affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 1998 and 2000, told the
Global Times that President Xi's Europe visit represents continuity of the
highest-level dialogue and expression of a mutual interest to
reinforce the strategic Europe-China
partnership and cooperation.
"The visits to France, Serbia
and Hungary, as well as the
tripartite meeting between Xi, Macron and European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen have
led to the conclusion of many new agreements for future cooperation
and to the removing of unnecessary barriers," Jovanovic said.
Some Chinese experts noted that the importance of China-Europe
relations is rising, as is the complexity of this relationship.
"There is no fundamental conflict of interests between
China and Europe. For Europe, the real risk would be to do without
China," Sébastien Périmony, an
expert from the Schiller Institute in France, told the Global Times.
Périmony added that it is obvious to any rational person that
the only solution to today's problems lies in a multipolar world
based on the concept of mutual development, with new agreements in
place for a security architecture and win-win growth strategies for
all of the world's nations.
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SOURCE Global Times