Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has congratulated Qin Gang on his appointment as China’s new foreign minister as well as his former counterpart Wang Yi on his promotion to the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, the foreign ministry said on Friday. In his congratulatory letter to Qin, Szijjártó welcomed that Hungary and China had set up the “Belt and Road” intergovernmental cooperation committee at the end of last year following the milestones that had been the Belt and Road initiative, the China-CEE cooperation and the lifting of Hungarian-Chinese ties to a strategic partnership. Szijjártó highlighted the comprehensive partnership between Hungary and China, their “excellent” economic and financial cooperation as well as the significance of the resumption of direct flights between the two countries. He said Hungary and China were “in a good position” to further develop their ties. Hungary has a clear interest in reasonable cooperation between China and the European Union on the basis of mutual respect, he added. The minister expressed hope that he would soon meet his new Chinese counterpart in person.
In his letter to Wang, Szijjártó emphasised that ties between Hungary and China were stronger than ever. He highlighted cooperation in trade, investments, education, interpersonal ties, networking and finance and thanked Wang for his personal efforts in promoting it. Szijjártó expressed hope that he and Wang would continue to work together in expanding Hungary and China’s relations and partnership.