Xi Encourages Hungary To 'Lead' Region's Relations With Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping has cited strong "mutual political trust," a shared defiance of "power politics," and "similar views and positions" on regional and international issues to encourage a more active role for Hungary to shape China-EU relations. The May 8 appeal was published on the Hungarian pro-government website Magyar Nemzet ahead of Xi's arrival in Hungary later the same day during a European tour that has already taken the Chinese leader to France and Serbia. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is among the EU's harshest critics, and his country takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency in July. “We have gone through hardships together and defied power politics together amid volatile international relations,” Xi said. “We have found our respective path for sovereign states to independently conduct friendly exchanges with other countries.”