Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said that The
Hungarian Season, slated to be held in nine Chinese cities between
September 2007 and April 2008, is an important milestone for the
further development of bilateral relations.
In a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua prior to his visit
to China starting on Sunday, Gyurcsany said The Hungarian Season in
China is one of a series of events organized to showcase the
potential economic cooperation opportunities Hungary has and the
country's cultural and tourism resources.
"Our key objective is to introduce Hungary and bring her closer
to the Chinese audience, particularly the business community, and
to show that Hungary, with its open economy, extraordinary
geographical location, well-developed infrastructure and European
Union (EU) membership, can be an important partner for China to
invest and promote tourism in the long term," he said, adding that
the key element of The Hungarian Season is economic and business
events enriched by tourism, gastronomy and cultural programs.
Speaking of the future of the Hungarian-Chinese relations, the
prime minister said the ties between both countries are excellent
and have reached the highest level in their 50-year history. He
said the Hungarian government considers its relations with Asia,
particularly China, to be very important. In 2003, the government
formulated a comprehensive concept for developing relations with
the Asia-Pacific region including the Far East and East Asia, and
China is among the countries of prior concern in this concept.
The importance of the Hungary-China partnership is also
reflected in the Hungarian government's new foreign policy strategy
that is currently in the process of being approval.
The two countries' political ties at different levels are
constantly expanding and deepening. "With regard to the future, I
genuinely hope that the current dynamism of our relations can be
sustained in both political and economic dimensions," Gyurcsany
said.
Meanwhile, the Hungarian-Chinese economic relations are
developing vigorously with Hungary's export growing, Chinese
investment in Hungary expanding and Chinese tourists increasing,
said the prime minister. China has become Hungary's number one
trading partner in Asia. In the first five months of this year,
both exports and imports of Hungary grew by 21 percent.
Hungarian statistical data showed that the bilateral trade
reached US$4.6 billion last year. "We are happy to see that there
has been a dynamic growth in exports to China over the last two
years. We are confident that our export volume can reach US$1
billion this year," said the prime minister.
"We welcome Chinese investors in Hungary. Hungary can play and
has already been playing a very useful role in China's foreign
trade and investment operations with Europe thanks to its excellent
geographical and logistical features," he said.
Gyurcsany hoped the Hungarian-Chinese economic relations would
be duely adjusted to meet the requirements of the 21st century,
with more emphasis being put on research and development, IT,
biotechnology, the introduction of agricultural production systems
and modern logistics.
Speaking of Hungary's role in promoting the development of the
EU-Chinese relations, the prime minister said Hungary's accession
to the EU has won China a new friend in the organization. He added
that Hungary is fully aware of the strategic importance of the
EU-Chinese relations, and the rapid development of the
Hungarian-Chinese relations is completely in line with the
advancement of the EU-Chinese cooperation. Hungary supports the
strengthening of cooperation between the EU and China, he
added.
(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2007)
