New research center to boost Sino-Hungary ties

A Hungarian studies center, aimed at advancing high-level international cooperation, was jointly launched on Saturday by Sanming University and Shanghai International Studies University in Sanming, Fujian province, a major ancestral home of overseas Chinese in Europe.

The center brings together 20 cross-disciplinary expert researchers, while engaging overseas Chinese professionals based in Hungary. It will leverage the city's diaspora resources to conduct practical, field-based research.

Chen Lieping, Party chief of Sanming University, said the center will adhere to a global vision and field investigations to build a highly innovative research community, providing continuous intellectual support for the country's opening-up efforts.

Meng Zhongjie, president of Shanghai International Studies University, said the university will provide counsel for trade between Fujian and Hungary and cultivate compound talents versed in the Hungarian language, international rules, and industrial economics.

Renato Horvath, the acting consul general of Hungary in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, said, "Under the strategic guidance of leaders from both nations, Hungary-China relations are currently experiencing their strongest period in history."

He expressed hope that the center would serve as a platform to expand practical bilateral cooperation in joint student training, faculty exchanges, scientific research collaboration and cultural dialogue.

The launch brought together scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University and Hungary's Eotvos Lorand University and University of Miskolc. A forum held on the sidelines of the event focused on the global expansion of Fujian enterprises into European markets, aligning academic resources with industrial needs.

Gerhard Akos Emod, former mayor of Velence, Hungary, said economic cooperation between the two countries has seen robust growth, with Hungary becoming a key platform for major Chinese firms such as BYD and CATL to enter the broader European market.

Emod said bilateral cooperation is expected to expand further in energy storage, technological innovation and circular recycling economies, highlighting that China will remain an important investment source and strategic economic partner for Hungary's development.

International scholars conducted field studies on Sunday in Mingxi county, an inland commercial gateway to Central Europe where nearly 5,000 overseas Chinese from the county are engaged in business and trade activities across Hungary, providing a foundation for exchanges.

Local authorities said the diaspora connection has fostered sister-city ties between Sanming and Budapest's 15th district. Sanming University and Hungary's University of Miskolc recently launched an approved dual-degree undergraduate program in artificial intelligence, using a dual-registration model to jointly train technology talent.

Zhang Yi contributed to this story.

humeidong@chinadaily.com.cn