NATO Must Not Become an Anti-China Bloc, Foreign Minister Says

Hungary does not want NATO to turn into an anti-China bloc. Instead of rivalry, we need mutually beneficial cooperation, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday at the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

“We have not entered, nor do we want to enter, any competition that would create a competition of systems between China and Europe or between China and Hungary,” he added.

Szijjártó underlined that the government is interested in mutually beneficial cooperation rather than rivalry. It is not only possible but necessary, primarily because of the automotive revolution, as European manufacturers have become totally dependent on South Korean and Chinese electric batteries.

The minister said that one of the most severe consequences of the war in Ukraine is that the world is moving back towards building blocs, which is particularly bad news for Central Europe, which has always been caught up in the East-West conflict.

We believe in connectivity, in creating and maintaining links, rather than bloc-building,”

he concluded, saying that cooperation with China should be even closer. Finally, he referred to China’s peace plan for Ukraine, which he said could be a good starting point for international negotiations. “We would like to see peace talks start as soon as possible, a ceasefire as soon as possible, because the sooner there is a ceasefire, the sooner peace talks start, the more lives we can save in Ukraine,” he said.

Speaking at the Brussels meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that it would be a historic mistake and would have profound consequences if China were to militarily support Russia in the war in Ukraine. He pointed out that “China refuses to condemn Russia’s aggression, echoes Russian propaganda and supports the Russian economy, while together they are stepping up their military activities in the Pacific.”

Featured photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter