Trade

Ambassador calls for more Hungary-China trade

By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-25 09:23
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BUDAPEST - China has decided to deepen its relations with Hungary, the gateway to central and east Europe, by increasing trade and mutual investment, cooperating more on building infrastructure and in financing, said Gao Jian, Chinese ambassador to Hungary.

Gao said Premier Wen Jiabao's visit on Friday and Saturday will once again show China's good intentions by leading to the signing of cooperation agreements and exchanges of ideas with Hungarian leaders.

"I found the two countries have both placed economic development high on their agendas and so the potential for cooperation is huge," said Gao in an exclusive interview with China Daily before Wen's visit.

Apart from meeting leaders, Wen is also going to spend time with Budapest residents and college students.

Gao said Premier Wen's visit will bring relations between the countries to a new level after the two sides have developed solid ties in economics and trade, education, culture, health, sports and tourism over the past 10 years. "Hungary has already become an important trade and economic partner for China in Central and Eastern Europe," Gao said.

She said Bank of China has opened its first branch in Budapest and Hainan Airlines has begun flying between Beijing and Budapest. And the first government-sponsored bilingual school - where both Chinese and Hungarian are taught - is seven years old. More and more Chinese are coming to Hungary to study and travel.

"As ambassador, I am quite happy to see these new developments, but meanwhile, I am quite concerned about new difficulties in the international arena," Gao said.

She said the challenges include regional conflicts, financial and debt emergencies and climate change. "So both China and Hungary should consider how to better cooperate and become well prepared to overcome the difficulties."

China has announced its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) to improve the livelihoods of people, protect the environment and attain sustainable development. And the Hungarian government is looking to define its own goals and put economic development high among its priorities. That will allow both sides to cooperate more on trade, investment, infrastructure and financing.

She forecast that the value of trade between the countries will reach $10 billion in 2011, surpassing the $8.72 billion recorded for last year.

And from January to April 2011, the trade between the countries came to $2.97 billion, rising 16.1 percent from the previous year. China's exports to Hungary increased by 21 percent between the two periods, rising to $2.19 billion during the first four months of 2011. Meanwhile, the value of exports from Hungary to China has risen by 4.5 percent, reaching $780 million during the four months.

"I hope China will take more bold steps to attract Hungarian exports and narrow the trade deficit," said Bela Glattfelder, a Hungarian member of the European Parliament.

For example, he said China should further lower trade barriers to increase the amount of food being imported from Hungary.

But China said it has been working to draw in more imports from Hungary, a country with a population of about 10 million.

In 2010 alone, China imported $2.2 billion worth of Hungarian goods, an amount that was up 49.9 percent from what it had been 2009.

Analysts say this trend may continue for a while, especially since China has decided that it will double from 2011 to 2015 the value of the goods it imports.

Gao also said mutual investment has also been on the rise. Until now, the value of China's investment in Hungary has reached $2.5 billion, creating more than 10,000 jobs in the fields of trade, finance, aerospace, chemicals, shipping, real estate, consulting, telecommunication and electronics.

Apart from increasing trade, the Chinese government has been determined to invest more overseas and European countries are high on the list of places where the investments are to go. Csaba Tabajdi, a member of the European Parliament, said Hungary is ready to provide a gateway for Chinese goods and services to come to the market of the European Union.

"Hungary can serve as a regional hub for the distribution of Chinese goods imported to the EU," Tabajdi said. "Our country is small but has an open market economy and excellent trade relations within and outside the EU."

He said Hungary accommodates the biggest Chinese community in the region and Hungary is the only country in Central Europe where the Bank of China has an office.

Glattfelder said he hoped that China can work with Hungary more in the fields of real estate and renewable energy, especially solar power. "China is a hub of solar panel producers and I hope this can bring more and more green cooperation opportunities in Hungary and the rest of countries in Central and Eastern Europe," said Glattfelder, who is also president of the Hungarian Solar Power Association.

At the same time, China has a pool of laborers who are well experienced in building houses and infrastructure. "Those are opportunities for China in my country," said Glattfelder.

 

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