Hungary and China sign strategic cooperation agreement during visit by Chinese President Xi

By BELA SZANDELSZKY
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary and China have signed agreements to deepen their economic and cultural cooperation during a visit to the Central European country by Chinese President Xi Jinping, a trip meant to solidify China’s economic footprint in the region. During a news briefing on Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s long-serving populist leader who has pursued deeper ties with Beijing while distancing himself from his more mainstream partners in the European Union, praised the “continuous, uninterrupted friendship” between the two countries since his tenure began in 2010, and promised that Hungary would continue to host further Chinese investments. Xi arrived in Hungary late Wednesday in a European tour that also took in Serbia and France.