The Hungarian delegation is seeking to strengthen and further deepen bilateral ties with China, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Beijing before talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that Prime Minister Orbán was the first foreign leader to visit his country in the Chinese New Year, signalling the close relationship between the two nations. Premier Keqiang also noted that the two countries had established diplomatic relations 65 years ago, and expressed his hope that the visit would provide a further boost to bilateral relations.

Mr. Orban expressed Hungary's profound recognition of China's recent achievements, noting that Li Keqiang had already visited Budapest, as deputy premier at that time, and that they had also held talks at the Bucharest China-CEE summit last year.

Following today's talks, several bilateral agreements were signed in the presence of the two Prime Ministers.

President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences József Pálinkás concluded cooperation agreements with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

A memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Ministry for National Economy and the Chinese State Tourism Office on the establishment of a joint tourism organisation.

A declaration of intent was signed on the use of traditional Chinese medicine, a memorandum on expert exchange was signed by the head of the National Office of Innovation, and Eximbank’s deputy director signed an agreement on export insurance.

The Hungarian Government was represented at the plenary talks by Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga and Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog.

(Prime Minister’s Office)