Premiers to speed up Hungary rail project

China and Hungary have showcased their friendship and reinforced bilateral relations during Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Beijing with a long list of cooperation agreements.

Infrastructure construction, especially the implementation of an ongoing railway upgrade project, will take the lead in bilateral cooperation, according to a statement released after the meeting. Their cooperation also covers sectors such as finance, science, agriculture, and people and cultural exchanges.

Premier Li Keqiang and Orban met in Beijing on Wednesday and agreed to carry forward the Budapest-Belgrade rail upgrade, along with other infrastructure projects, in a bid to promote regional communication.

Orban and Li reached an agreement on the rail upgrade project in November at the Bucharest summit for China and Central and Eastern European countries. They also made plans for Budapest to become a regional hub for Chinese trade in Central and Eastern Europe at the summit.

The project will showcase China's railway technology and construction capability in the region as the nation seeks better acceptance of its railway technology in the global market.

The two countries also signed memorandums and agreements on finance, academic and agricultural cooperation and people exchanges. China and Hungary will issue a joint statement during Orban's visit.

During the meeting, Li encouraged Hungary to facilitate and take part in China's cooperation with the European Union and with CEE countries.

"As the first foreign state leader visiting China after Lunar New Year, your trip signals the intimate relations between our two countries," he said.

Orban, sending belated New Year greetings to the Chinese people, said the primary task of his visit is to deepen the exchanges between Hungary and China.

Recalling Li's visit to Budapest as vice-premier in 2012, Orban hailed the mutual trust that the two nations have built up over the years and said the bilateral relations are facing new opportunities as China advances win-win cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries as part of its European strategy.

During his trip to the head office of Bank of China in Beijing on Wednesday, Orban said his administration has approved an application by Bank of China to establish a branch office in the Hungary, making BOC the first Chinese bank to build a branch network in the country.

He said Central Europe is in need of financing services due to inadequate infrastructure.

"Highways and high-speed railways in the North-South direction are still not completed, ... and Central European countries lack resources. We believe we have cooperation opportunities with China in this respect," Orban said.

He added that China has reached an agreement with Hungary to raise money for the Budapest-Belgrade railway project.

"We warmly welcome China to take part in this infrastructure project as a financier and a contractor," he said.

Tian Guoli, chairman of BOC, said his bank hopes to establish a Central and Eastern European financial center in Hungary and will gradually improve the bank's ability to provide financing support to the region.

As the yuan goes global, BOC is seeking to become the clearing bank for RMB business in Hungary. Orban said the central bank of Hungary is looking into that request, which his administration advised the central bank to approve.