After France and its vocal critics, Xi Jinping continues his European tour with a trip to conquered territory. Visiting Serbia on Tuesday May 7 and Wednesday May 8, then in Hungary until Friday May 10, the Chinese president chose to honor with his presence two countries with limited demographic and economic weight but whose two leaders, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban use very critical rhetoric of the West which pleases the Chinese.
During these four days in Belgrade and Budapest, no criticism of human rights in China, Chinese trade policy or Beijing’s support for Moscow should be expected. On the contrary, Mr. Vucic intends to celebrate what he describes “friendship of steel” between Serbia and China, when Mr. Orban wants to defend his “open policy” Hungarian then “that our natural market, Western Europe, is sick”. “China can count on Hungary because the government rejects any effort that would exclude Chinese products from the European market in a protectionist manner”promised Hungarian Economy Minister Marton Nagy ahead of the visit, in response to threats of European trade reprisals against Chinese economic policy of subsidies.
Both the Serbs and the Hungarians hope to obtain concrete investment announcements during this visit. Mr. Vucic explained that he would ask the Chinese president for help “to restore train production” in his country, but also for investments in the field of “flying vehicles” and of “artificial intelligence”. The Hungarian media are speculating on the construction of a new Chinese electric vehicle factory by the manufacturer Great Wall Motors, in Pecs, in the south of the country. Mr. Xi could also announce the construction of a train between Budapest airport and the center of the capital.
Investments
With its assertive pro-Beijing policy, Hungary has succeeded in a few years in becoming the leading destination in the European Union (EU) for Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles. “Compared to other countries in the region such as the Czech Republic or Poland, Chinese companies appreciate Hungary for its continued good relations with China for twenty years”explains Agnes Szunomar, director of the Institute of Global Studies at Corvinus University in Budapest.
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