BEIJING -- The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto took part in the 2nd China-CEEC (Central and Eastern European Countries) Investment and Trade Expo in Ningbo, which was held from June 8 to June 12. Hungary was the guest of honor this year.
"We help the companies on both side to come together, but after the meetings, it's their jobs to make business with each other, so I think it makes sense, because if Chinese companies come to know Hungarian companies personally, there are many more chances for success," Szijjarto said.
The year 2015 was a milestone for China-Hungary ties, and the economic cooperation between the two sides has something to do with the 16+1 framework, Szijjarto told China Daily in an interview.
"The 16+1 framework made our high-level exchanges very frequent, and exactly a year ago, Hungary became the first country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, and this wouldn't have been possible without the 16+1 framework," Szijjarto said.
As a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative, the planned Hungary-Serbia high-speed railway will cut travel time from eight hours to less than three hours on this 350-kilometer-long segment of the transportation corridor.
"The existing railway doesn't allow modern delivery, so we need to modernize it to be the second track, so this has been under preparation, and facility studies have been concluded. Now we are negotiating about the financial terms and the construction contract," he said.
Last year, the two countries signed a MOU in the spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the document paved the way for Hungarian beef to enter China this year.
On the cultural and people-to-people cooperation, he said Hungary has decreased the visa issuing deadline to 72 hours, and Hungary has entitled visa authorizing companies operating in Beijing and Shanghai to operate collection points of visa applications in 14 different cities in China. (Source: China Daily)
A single purchase
