Xi Jinping praises Hungary’s ‘independent’ foreign policy ahead of Orbán meeting

China’s President Xi Jinping has praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government for pursuing an “independent” foreign policy and “defying” great power politics on a European trip analysts say is aimed at exploiting divisions in the EU and Nato.

Xi, who was due to travel to Hungary from Serbia on Wednesday evening as part of his five-day European tour, called for Budapest to “lead” central and eastern European nations’ relations with China in a letter published by Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet.

“We have gone through hardships together and defied power politics together amid volatile international relations,” Xi said in an English version of the article. “We have found our respective path for sovereign states to independently conduct friendly exchanges with other countries.”

The comments appeared to be a reference to how Orbán, Europe’s longest-serving prime minister, has defied pressure from Brussels, the US and Nato, maintaining friendly relations with Moscow and deepening ties with China.

In Belgrade, Xi and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić signed a joint statement on the creation of a “China-Serbia community with a shared future”, an endorsement of the Chinese leader’s effort to build a coalition of countries that oppose what he sees as US hegemony.

Xi told French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday that the world needed to avoid a “new cold war”, part of his campaign to convince European governments to distance themselves from US foreign policy.

China regards Hungary as one of its closest partners in Europe and has lavished investment promises on the country. One potential project under discussion is an electric vehicle plant for China’s Great Wall Motor, Chinese officials have said, following investments by EV maker BYD and battery maker CATL.

However, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó, said reports Xi might announce plans for the factory during his visit were premature.

Szijjártó said he expected at least 16 deals to be signed with China while Xi was in Hungary, covering infrastructure and the construction, energy, and industrial sectors. The two countries would start a co-operation programme “encompassing the entire portfolio of nuclear energy”, he said.

“Our two countries need to lead regional co-operation,” Xi said in his letter, adding Hungary could help China deepen ties with central and eastern European countries to ensure “steady” relations between Beijing and the EU.

During his meetings with Macron, Xi gave no ground on European complaints that oversupply and weak demand in China could threaten EU industry through the dumping of cheap products on the bloc’s markets.

The EU is also concerned about Xi’s close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s growing trade with Russia, which the bloc alleges has helped Moscow withstand western sanctions since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Xi’s visits to Hungary and Serbia — among Europe’s most Russia-friendly countries — would do little to dispel those concerns, analysts said.

Orbán in October became the first EU leader to meet Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting took place in Beijing on the sidelines of the Belt and Road forum, Xi’s signature infrastructure investment initiative, where Orbán was the only European leader in attendance.

Xi, who arrived in Serbia on Tuesday, lashed out at Nato over the 1999 bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which killed three people, saying that Chinese and Serbians should “never forget” the incident.

In Belgrade on Wednesday, Vučić said he was happy to extend “the warmest welcome anywhere in the world” to the Chinese leader.

“When they ask us about China, we don’t have complicated answers,” the Serbian president told Xi. “As a small country, we have a lot of problems, and then we call our big friends, Mr President.”

At a later joint press conference, Xi hailed Serbia for becoming “the first European country where we will build a community with a shared future”.

The “shared future” term denotes Xi’s vision for a world order led by China and covers global infrastructure, development, security and civilisational initiatives launched by the Chinese president.

In an explanation of the meaning of a “global community of shared future”, China last year made clear that one of its main aims was to confront the “hegemonic thinking of certain countries that seek supremacy” — shorthand for challenging the power of the US.

US deputy assistant secretary of state Gabriel Escobar told an online press conference that Xi had chosen to visit countries that were “open to challenging the unity of the Euro-Atlantic community”.

“We caution all of our partners and all of our interlocutors to be very aware of China’s agenda,” Escobar said.