At the business forum jointly organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency (HITA), State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Péter Szijjártó signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese industrial group Wanhua, owner of Hungarian chemical raw material manufacturing company BorsodChem. In additional, a number of other company agreements were concluded at the forum.

State Secretary Szijjártó stressed that the Hungarian cabinet has established a highly competitive investment environment and is ready to offer support to Chinese investors and a ten-year tax incentive to enterprises that create jobs in Hungary.

Earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also addressed the Hungarian business delegation, where he said that China is currently working on building links with Central Europe.

Among the aims of his visit to Beijing, he highlighted the signing of a final contract on setting up a regional hub in Budapest for tourism cooperation between China and Central Europe, as well as the re-launching of a direct air service between Hungary and China. Plans to expand agricultural cooperation are also under development.

Prime Minister Orbán also pointed out that since the European Union will earmark much less for Central European infrastructural development in its next seven-year budget, this is an opportunity for China to get involved in such projects, such as the modernisation of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, which will be realised with Chinese participation.

(Prime Minister's Office)