Bilateral trade between Hungary and Zhejiang province in eastern China has grown by 55% in 3 years to over 1.5 billion US dollars, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Facebook on Wednesday. Zhejiang is one of the richest provinces of China, with a 6% growth rate last year, Péter Szijjártó said. Hungary continues to benefit from that prosperity as large companies from the region are investing a total of 680 billion forints (EUR 1.8bn) in the e-vehicle and packaging industries, he added. The Hungarian government is running a cargo plane five times a week between Budapest and the province capital Hangzhou, and there are two direct passenger planes a week between Budapest and Ningbo, he added. Meanwhile, cooperation in higher education is also evolving, as shown in the cooperation agreement signed by Széchenyi István University in Győr, in north-west Hungary, and Jiaxing University, which will offer a dual degree in civil engineering, he said.