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Monday, May 27, 2019, 12:54
NPC chief's Hungarian visit boosts mutual ties
By Xinhua
Monday, May 27, 2019, 12:54 By Xinhua

Li Zhanshu, left, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), meets with Hungarian President Janos Ader in Budapest, Hungary, May 22, 2019. (HUANG JINGWEN / XINHUA)

BUDAPEST-With this year marking the 70th anniversary of Sino-Hungarian diplomatic ties, the recent visit to Hungary by China's top legislator Li Zhanshu has injected impetus into the traditional friendship between the two countries.

Meeting with Hungarian President Janos Ader on Wednesday, Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings.

Li called on the two sides to strengthen synergy of development strategies, deepen the cooperation in economy, trade, investment, science and technology, agriculture and interconnection

Li said that after China and Hungary lifted bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017, their relationship entered a new stage featuring a "speeding-up" of development.

During the meeting, Li and Ader spoke in-depth about environmental and resource protection. Li said that protecting the environment and coping with climate change requires countries to work together.

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Ader said that both Hungary and China attach great importance to environmental and resource protection, and they can deepen cooperation in such areas as water pollution prevention and management, water resources development and utilization.

When meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday, Li said relations between the two countries have maintained a smooth and healthy development.

Hungary was the first European country to sign an intergovernmental cooperation agreement with China over the Belt and Road Initiative.

Li called on the two sides to strengthen synergy of development strategies, deepen the cooperation in economy, trade, investment, science and technology, agriculture and interconnection.

In the meeting with Orban, Li pointed out that maintaining multilateralism and free trade is the consensus of most countries in the world.

Li Zhanshu, left, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), meets with Hungarian President Janos Ader in Budapest, Hungary, May 22, 2019. (HUANG JINGWEN / XINHUA)

"China does not deliberately pursue a trade surplus and is willing to resolve trade differences between countries through negotiation on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit," Li said.

"Despite the impact of some external factors, the Chinese economy has still maintained a healthy and stable development, and we are full of confidence in the Chinese economy," Li said.

Orban said Hungary firmly supports and actively participates in the Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to work with China to jointly safeguard the free trade system and promote economic development in Eurasia.

During the talks with Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover on Wednesday, Li said that the NPC will maintain friendly relations with the Hungarian Parliament and draw on experience in legislation and supervision to forge ahead with mutual understanding and trust.

ALSO READ: China, Hungary establish comprehensive strategic partnership

Kover said he expected the NPC and Hungarian Parliament to conduct close exchanges, continuously enrich the contents of their cooperation and better facilitate the countries' development.

During Li's three-day visit to Hungary, he also visited a Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school, the European logistics center of information and communications technology giant Huawei, and a China-Europe logistics cooperation park for trade and business.

Hungary was the last stop of Li's 10-day European tour, which included visits to Norway and Austria. He returned to Beijing on Friday.

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