Press
Viktor Orban already caused a stir with a visit to Moscow. The visit was seen as a staged event in the Ukraine conflict. Now a stop in another key country in the war follows.
Beijing – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has made a surprise visit to China. Chinese state media reported this this morning (local time). “Peace Mission 3.0 #Beijing,” Orban wrote on the social network X after his arrival in Beijing. There he also published a photo showing him being greeted by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying at the airport.
According to China’s official news agency Xinhua, Orban wants to meet with head of state and party leader Xi Jinping for talks.
Previous visit to Russia
Orban had only travelled to Moscow on Friday for a controversial visit, where he was received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orban had staged the meeting with Putin, whose country has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than two years, as a “peace mission”. The trip was also met with criticism because Hungary had just taken over the six-month rotating EU Council Presidency. Orban had previously visited Ukraine.
Xi was also in Hungary in May on a trip to Europe. Budapest and Beijing have had good relations for a long time. In October, Orban was one of the few European representatives and the only EU head of government to take part in China’s forum on the “New Silk Road”. Hungary is also part of the Chinese investment project with which the People’s Republic is implementing infrastructure projects worldwide and thus expanding its influence. dpa
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