Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in his office on Monday.
According to MTI, PM Orbán and Jin were in agreement that Hungary’s policy of opening up to the East was now bearing fruit, with the highest amount of FDI coming from Chinese, South Korean and Japanese businesses. Asian commercial banks are also stepping up their presence and activity in Hungary. Hungary intends for Asian capital to play a key role in the achievement of its national economic development goals, and sees its membership in the AIIB as a bridge that promotes its activities in Asia. The meeting was also attended by Economic Development Minister Márton Nagy.
At a separate meeting, Minister Nagy and Jin reviewed the current international financial and economic situation and potential opportunities for cooperation, with special regard to investments and active capital market participation, the economic development ministry said in a statement. Nagy emphasised China’s rise in global economic competition, calling the development of its financial system and improving competitiveness “exemplary”. Hungary believes in “peaceful connectivity”, he said, adding that Hungarian-Chinese relations were on the upswing and that China and Chinese financial institutions were key partners for Hungary. China is Hungary’s ninth most important trading partner, with bilateral trade turnover exceeding 13 billion dollars, Nagy said. Progress is also being made in financial cooperation, he added. Hungary aims to become a regional financial hub, which could also help it serve as a bridgehead for Chinese financial institutions, the minister said. Hungary has “excellent relations” with the branches of the Bank of China, the China Construction Bank Corporation and China Development Bank operating in Hungary, which it aims to strengthen with the AIIB as well, he said. The sides were in agreement on the need to continue deepening financial and economic cooperation and agreed to continue holding regular consultations. Hungary joined the AIIB in 2017, the ministry noted.