China’s Xi arrives in Hungary for talks on expanding Chinese investments

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hungary late Wednesday, the final stop on his five-day European tour, where he’s expected to finalize a number of agreements with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that will deepen China’s economic footprint in the region.

Xi is set to spend two nights in the Hungarian capital Budapest where he will meet with Orbán and Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok. Talks will center on future Chinese investments in the Central European country, which has courted deep economic ties with Beijing even as mainstream European leaders have pursued more protectionist policies to limit its reach on the continent.

Orbán, a nationalist populist whose illiberal policies have pushed him to the fringes of the European Union, made his country the first in the 27-member bloc to participate in Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative. Hungary has straddled a middle ground between its membership in the EU and NATO and a willingness to establish diplomatic and trade relationships with autocratic governments outside those groupings.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, told a news conference on Monday that Xi and Hungarian officials would sign at least 16 bilateral agreements during the visit, Xi’s first to the country as president.

Szijjártó called the visit “historic,” and pointed out that China had provided more foreign investment to Hungary than any other country in 2023. He added that some of the agreements to be signed would involve expansion of Belt and Road in Hungary, and could include investments in infrastructure and energy.

Xi’s arrival in Budapest came after a two-day visit to Serbia’s capital Belgrade, where he signed an agreement on building a “shared future” with the