China's Xi in Hungary to celebrate 'new era' with Orban

(ANSA-AFP) - BUDAPEST, MAY 9 - Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hungary on Thursday seeking a "new journey" with Beijing's closest European Union ally amid divisions with the West over the Ukraine war and global trade. The state visit to Hungary is the last leg of Xi's European tour, his first to the continent since 2019. In recent years, the Central European country of 9.6 million people has attracted a flood of major Chinese projects, mostly related to the manufacture of electric vehicles and batteries. Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok warmly received Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan with military honours in the courtyard of the presidential palace in Budapest on Thursday morning. The Chinese leader arrived in the Hungarian capital on Wednesday night after wrapping up his visit to Serbia, and later attended a state dinner with Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
    Budapest was decked out with Chinese flags and placed under tight security, while Tibetan flags were hidden from sight. In an op-ed published in Hungary's pro-government Magyar Nemzet daily ahead of his arrival, Xi praised a "long-standing friendship" he described "as mellow and rich as Tokaji wine", referring to the renowned Hungarian vineyards region. "We have gone through hardships together and defied power politics together amid volatile international situations. "Our bilateral relationship is at its best in history, and has embarked on a golden voyage... On the new journey of the new era, China looks forward to working closely with our Hungarian friends," he wrote. (ANSA-AFP).