Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Let's move on to other world news. A fervent admirer of the Chinese president, Hungary's
00:05Viktor Orban signed a number of agreements with Xi Jinping during the final day of a
00:09European tour aimed at solidifying China's economic footprint in the region. Following
00:15talks in Budapest, the Hungarian Prime Minister praised what he described as the continuous,
00:20uninterrupted friendship between the two countries since his tenure began back in 2010. He promised
00:27that Hungary would continue to host further Chinese investments. Let's hear some of what
00:31the two leaders had to say.
00:35China attaches great importance to the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and believes
00:41that Europe is an important pole in the multipolar world, an important partner in promoting Chinese-style
00:46modernisation. China supports Hungary in playing a greater role within the EU and promoting
00:52China-EU relations to achieve new and greater development.
00:59Efforts should be made toward peace instead. Our voice, Hungary's voice in Europe, is the
01:04only voice. Europe today is on the side of war. The only exception is Hungary, which
01:09calls for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, and supports all international efforts
01:14toward peace, including the Chinese Peace Initiative, presented by President Xi Jinping.
01:22For some analysis, let's cross live now to our correspondent in Beijing. Yena Li is standing
01:27by for us. Great to have you with us this morning, Yena. So firstly, how exactly has
01:32this five-day European tour been viewed in China?
01:37Really quite positively, Sharon, and in a patriotic light as well on social media, there
01:44are these viral videos, for example, of Serbian people complimenting China's rapid development
01:50or people waving the Chinese flag on the streets of Belgrade. French Prime Minister Gabriel
01:57Attal's efforts at speaking a few words in Mandarin to President Xi Jinping as well was
02:03applauded by netizens, and we also have one trending topic on Weibo, which is how Hungary
02:08and China have similar food and culture. Of course, social media is controlled here, and
02:13the trends we see can sometimes be genuine and they can also be artificial. Above all,
02:18the things that go viral here are things that are allowed to go viral here. The takeaway
02:23is that these European countries rolled out the red carpet for President Xi Jinping. He
02:28is a respected leader abroad, and thus the Chinese people are being respected abroad,
02:32at least that's what you'll see if you've been looking at some of the social media here
02:36in China this week.
02:38So not surprisingly then, perhaps viewed positively in China, what about Xi's international goals
02:44and has the trip from that point of view been a success for him?
02:51Well the overarching goal is to promote China's economy and its market whilst defending Beijing's
02:56foreign policy of course. The Belgrade visit was timed to be an anti-NATO, anti-US snub
03:03whilst also serving as an opportunity to upgrade bilateral ties, and indeed 29 new deals were
03:08signed. Hungary too was rather a logical choice for Beijing as a supporter of Beijing's Belt
03:13and Road initiative and a host of several Chinese EV battery plants. Budapest is an
03:20important friend for Beijing. France has been a little bit more complex but was probably
03:25seen as a necessity for Beijing as they see Paris as a crucial partner in the EU and a
03:32crucial one as a P5 nation on the international scale as well. Leaders Macron and Xi agreed
03:38on things that they mostly already agree on but they did it publicly and President Xi was
03:42treated to a personal, supposedly meaningful moment or two with President Macron. But before
03:49I leave you let me bring up some of the official wording from Beijing for this European trip.
03:55China and France have a precious history, unique values and an important mission. China and Serbia
04:00an ironclad friendship that has grown stronger and finally China and Hungary have entered
04:06their best period in history.
04:08Thank you so much for that update and analysis. That is Yenna Li joining us live there from Beijing.