During his trip to China, the Minister of Economic Development held talks with several officials in the economic field.Continue reading
Minister of Economic Development Márton Nagy held a meeting with Liao Lin, President and Executive Director of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), in Beijing as part of the final program of his talks in China, reports Világgazdaság. The ICBC is the world’s largest bank as measured by total assets. Earlier, the Hungarian Minister also met Tian Guoli, President of the China Construction Bank, the second-largest lending institution.
The meeting focused on the promotion of Hungarian-Chinese financial relations, as well as on new opportunities for cooperation, especially in the green and infrastructure sectors, such as the development of electromobility and renewable energy production and battery manufacturing.
Márton Nagy underlined that in order to ensure the security of the Hungarian economy and industry and to strengthen competitiveness, it is necessary to significantly increase energy efficiency and to develop and expand domestic, mainly green energy production capacities. To this end,
Hungary is developing new projects, counting on the cooperation, experience and knowledge of Chinese financial institutions, including the ICBC .
The Minister of Economic Development added that Hungarian-Chinese economic cooperation is in its heyday, with increasing amount of investment coming from China. The share of Chinese working capital is three times the EU average, and Chinese FDI (Direct Foreign Investment) could reach €13 billion in the coming years.
Márton Nagy held intensive talks in Beijing over five days. The aim of the visit and the discussions was to strengthen and deepen economic and financial relations between Hungary and China.
During his visit, the Hungarian Minister met with senior representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission, held meetings with the heads of the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, as well as the largest Chinese commercial banks, including the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the China Construction Bank (CCB). He also held talks with the President of the Silk Road Fund and visited Huawei’s newly inaugurated headquarters in Beijing, discussing the company’s strategy for Europe.
Márton Nagy gave a presentation to experts from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on the new directions of the global direct foreign investment strategy and discussed with the bank’s management possible financing opportunities in Hungary. During the talks, the Hungarian and Chinese sides repeatedly stressed that a surge in Chinese investment is expected in the coming period.
The Ministry of Economic Development stressed that
Hungary has always been open to Chinese investment, and that the two countries have not only an economic relationship based on mutual respect, but also a friendly relationship.
Our country supports the process of linking Western and Chinese capital, further strengthening Hungary’s role as a bridgehead, which is in the strategic interest not only of the region but of Europe as a whole. During his talks, Márton Nagy made it clear that any contrary process is detrimental to Hungary and Europe, so trade relations should not be hindered, but we should continue to work on dismantling borders.
Featured photo via Wikimedia Commons
