Analysis of Orban's unexpected visit to China
A few days ago, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's was received by President Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, marking the second face-to-face meeting between the leaders of China and Hungary within just two months.
In early May, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Hungary, during which both nations agreed to elevate their relationship to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era.
Among all the EU leaders, Orban has probably the most frequent face-to-face meetings with Xi in recent years. Actually, they have had met nine times since 2009 when the then Chinese Vice President Xi invited Orban to Beijing. In October of last year, Orban made a special trip to Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and met with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, making him the only EU leader to participate.
This time, Orban visits China with an additional role. As of July 1, Hungary assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Therefore, China is the first country Orban has visited outside Europe in this new capacity.
What makes Orban's trip garner special attention is that it occurs amid strained China-EU relations due to issues such as tariffs on electric vehicles. Today's newsletter includes the full translation of the official readout of Xi's meeting with Orban, and opinions from a Chinese commentator and two senior journalists on Orban’s visit.
Readout of Xi-Orban meeting released by Xinhua News Agency on July 8.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 8, 2024.
Xi noted that during his successful state visit to Hungary two months ago, the bilateral relations were elevated to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, which gave new historical significance to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year and injected strong impetus into the high-level development of China-Hungary relations.
Noting that the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee will be held next week, Xi said China will further deepen overall reform and promote high-quality development and high-level opening up, which will provide new opportunities and create new momentum for China-Hungary cooperation.
Xi said that the two countries should maintain high-level exchanges, deepen political mutual trust, strengthen strategic communication and coordination, continue to firmly support each other, strengthen practical cooperation in various fields, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and continue to enrich the bilateral all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era to better benefit the people.
He congratulated Hungary on assuming the rotating presidency of the EU and said there is no geopolitical contradiction or fundamental conflict of interests between China and the EU.
China-EU relations are of strategic significance and global influence and should maintain steady and sound development, Xi said, calling on the two sides to jointly respond to global challenges.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the EU, Xi said, adding that the two sides should stay committed to the correct path of bilateral partnership with cooperation as the defining trend, continue to promote two-way opening up, strengthen international coordination, and contribute to world peace, stability, development and prosperity.
It is hoped that Hungary, as the holder of the rotating EU presidency, will play a positive role in promoting the sound and stable development of China-EU relations and facilitating constructive interactions, Xi added.
Orban said that over the past two months, the two sides have earnestly implemented the important outcomes of President Xi's historic visit to Hungary, strengthened friendship and mutual trust, and laid a solid foundation for the future development of bilateral relations.
In the face of the current turbulent international situation, China not only loves peace but has also put forward a series of constructive and important initiatives, proving with its own concrete actions that China is an important stabilizing force for world peace, Orban said.
He added that Hungary highly appreciates and values China's role and influence and is willing to maintain close strategic communication and coordination with China.
Hungary advocates strengthening cooperation with China and opposes forming exclusionary cliques and bloc confrontation, Orban said.
Hungary is willing to take the rotating EU presidency as an opportunity to actively promote the sound development of EU-China relations, he said.
The two sides exchanged in-depth views on the Ukraine crisis. Orban briefed Xi on his recent visits to Ukraine and Russia. Xi expressed appreciation for Orban's efforts in promoting the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and elaborated on China's relevant views and propositions.
Xi stressed that an early ceasefire and a political settlement are in the interests of all sides, adding that the priority is to cool down the situation by observing the three principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting, and no fanning by any party over the flames.
Xi called on the international community to create conditions and provide support for the resumption of direct dialogue and negotiation between the two sides, saying that only if all major countries inject positive rather than negative energy, can a ceasefire in this conflict emerge as soon as possible.
"China has been actively promoting peace talks in its own way and encouraging and supporting all efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of the crisis," he said, adding that the basic propositions of China and Hungary and the direction of their efforts are the same and that China is willing to stay in communication with Hungary and all relevant parties.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the meeting.
In the second part, we translated some key paragraphs of an interview of Guan Yao, a special commentator for 直播港澳台 Greater China Live, which is affiliated to Shenzhen TV. The interview transcript is pretty long, so we selected the parts focusing on analyzing the purposes of Orban's trip to Beijing and the international significance of Orban's "whirlwind tour of diplomacy" at the critical juncture:
Upon his arrival in Beijing, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban immediately took to social media "X" to emphasize that this visit is "Peace Mission 3.0." He highlighted that China is one of the key nations capable of fostering peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "This is why I came to meet with President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest."
Orban's "3.0" mission refers to his two whirlwind visits to Kyiv and Moscow last week, where he met with Presidents Zelensky and Putin, respectively. This marks a significant diplomatic move for Orban as Hungary takes on the presidency of the Council of the European Union. His surprise visit to Moscow last Friday made him the first EU leader to visit Russia since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, causing a stir in the Western world and triggering strong reactions from Kyiv and Brussels. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indirectly criticized Orban on X, "appeasement will not stop Putin." Current EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell condemned Orban's visit to Moscow as not receiving any mandate from the EU Council and said that visit is not representative of the EU.
Therefore, Orban's visit to Beijing serves two main purposes: to brief his mediation efforts between Ukraine and Russia and to seek China's support on two fronts. First, he seeks backing for Hungary's proposal to "cease fire and speed up peace talks," although Ukraine has already rejected this proposal. Second, he seeks support for Hungary's independent diplomatic stance despite pressure from the West. This position has subjected Hungary to significant pressure within the EU and the broader Western world, which is likely to intensify at the upcoming NATO summit.
Orban's stay in China lasts less than 12 hours. With the NATO summit beginning in Washington the next day (July 9), it is likely that Orban will head directly to Washington from Beijing. In this regard, his visit to Beijing, shrouded in secrecy, is a crucial and urgent diplomatic mission.
It is worth noticing that Orban's visit to China coincides with Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to Russia. Additionally, a three-day special summit marking NATO's 75th anniversary will commence in Washington the next day. The recent flurry of diplomatic activities, including interactions during last week's SCO summit, indicates a new critical phase for diplomatic efforts regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The final section includes insights from two Xinhua journalists, Ren Ke and Jiao Qian, regarding Orban's visit to China.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's surprise visit to China, as well as his visits to Ukraine and Russia, demonstrated that the Magyar state, as a unique small member state, can bring wisdom and pragmatism to the inflexible EU and help improve EU-China relations during its rotating presidency.
Orban's visit to China came just after Hungary took over the rotating EU presidency on July 1. Calling the trip the "Peace Mission 3.0," the Hungarian prime minister came to Beijing primarily for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and he got what he wanted from China.
Orban said on X when wrapping up the visit, "We discussed the Chinese peace plan with President Xi. China is the only world power that has been clearly committed to peace from the beginning. This is important for Hungary and for the entire European Union. President Xi has made it clear today that he will continue his efforts aimed at creating peace. We are not alone! We will continue our work."
His Beijing trip came after he visited Ukraine and Russia earlier this month, where he positioned himself as a mediator pushing for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin showed respect to Orban, as he maintains good relations with the two belligerent parties, which is quite different in the EU.
Many top EU politicians criticized the trip. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Orban's solo action was a threat to the EU's credibility. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Orban met Putin as prime minister of Hungary rather than the representative of the European Council.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has long been the top priority of the EU since it broke out in February 2022, and the bloc chose to fully side with Ukraine, cutting off almost all channels to hold dialogue with Russia and imposing so far 14 rounds of sanctions against Moscow.
While the EU's concerns about its security facing the possible Russian threat should be understood, however, the rigid, inflexible stance made the bloc incompetent in finding a way to a ceasefire and peace, in an ever more critical moment as the conflict has been stuck in a deadlock with no end foreseen.
But Hungary and its Prime Minister Viktor Orban are different from the mainstream EU politics. He is pragmatic on this issue. Hungary sticks to Russian gas, and Orban maintains channels of contact with Putin.
Shortly before he departed for China, Orban gave an interview in Budapest to the German newspaper die Welt. He said that the path to peace begins with those who are at war or close to war wanting peace. War does not fall from the sky. War is the result of the decision of certain people.
"How are China, the United States and the EU going about it? China has a peace plan. America has a war policy. And Europe, instead of having its own strategic approach, is simply copying the American position," Orban told die Welt.
In this respect, China and Hungary share similar stances. As the EU rotating presidency in the second half of this year, Hungary can set agendas for the EU’s decision-making processes, so that it can play a bigger role in the Russia-Ukraine issue, with cooperation with China.
In addition, Hungary can also shape better EU-China relations. Different from some European countries and politicians that focus more and more on ideologies, Hungary and Orban hold a pragmatic stance in engaging with China. It was the first European country to sign a memorandum of understanding on Belt and Road cooperation with China, and is now a major receiver of China's foreign direct investment in the EU.
The EU in recent years calls for "de-risking" from China, however, Orban told Xi in October last year in Beijing that Hungary opposes any "decoupling" and so-called "de-risking" approaches, and is willing to work with China to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, and connectivity, and deepen cultural exchanges.
Some European and U.S. politicians said recently that China's electric vehicles industry is suffering from overproduction, but Hungary believed that overproduction does not exist, saying that it's just a political ideological statement.
Hungary might be too small compared to some member states in the EU, and the half-year rotating presidency might be too short, but it’s not a bad idea for the whole EU, which is suffering inability in many domestic and foreign issues, to listen to Hungary’s voice more.
Ren Ke is a senior journalist from Xinhua News Agency, who has extensive experience in Europe. Jiao Qian is a Xinhua journalist covering domestic political and cultural news.
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