“Economic and financial relations between Hungary and China are increasingly strong and rest on secure foundations, and opportunities for cooperation will also open within a host of new fields in future”, Mihály Varga said following talks with Chinese Minster of Finance Liu Kun in Beijing. The Hungarian Finance Minister drew attention to the fact that this was the first Hungarian-Chinese finance ministers’ meeting since the 1990 regime change. During the meeting, it was stated that more Chinese banks are preparing to establish their regional centres in Budapest.

“Hungary is playing an increasingly important regional financial role on account of its geopolitical position, the dynamic development of its economy and its highly-trained professionals”, Mr. Varga said, pointing out that following the successful operations of Bank of China’s Hungarian headquarters, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the China Development Bank (CDB) and the China Construction Bank (CCB) are also examining the possibility of establishing a regional representation in Budapest. At the meeting, it was stated that in the recent past a host of Chinese capacity-increasing development projects linked to the manufacturing of vehicles and batteries have begun in Hungary. “It is also most welcome that an increasing number of Chinese enterprises are also choosing Hungary as an investment destination, with the total value of Chinese investments in Hungary now approaching 4.5 billion dollars. Huawei and ZTE within the field of telecommunications, Yanfeng and Joyson Safety Systems in the automotive industry, BYD within the field of electromobility, Zhejiang Kaishan Compressor with relation to geometric power plants, and Wanhua in the chemical industry are all examples with relation to which it has already been proven that Chinese companies regard Hungary as a target country that offers excellent business opportunities”, Mr. Varga pointed out, adding that the largest Chinese companies operating in Hungary currently employ over fifteen thousand people.

The Hungarian Finance Minister also held talks with President of the Export-Import Bank of China Hu Xiaolian and President of Bank of China Liu Liange, with whom he also discussed the possibility of major Hungarian corporations and banking sector enterprises entering the Chinese share market, in addition to which the parties also talked about with what other capital and foreign exchange market products they could facilitate the further development of bilateral economic relations.

(Ministry of Finance)