China, Hungary to jointly invest in green, digital transformation

BUDAPEST, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Hungary and China inked two agreements to enhance cooperation in green development and digital economy on Friday.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) were signed by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and Hungary's Ministry for Innovation and Technology (ITM).

"Hungary can become the freight, logistics and distribution center of Central Europe as it benefits as much as possible from trade between the Far East and Western Europe," ITM's minister Laszlo Palkovics said at the signing ceremony.

In accordance with Hungary's policy of Eastern Opening, the modernization of the Hungarian stretch of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line is already underway. "This year, the 100th Chinese container train also arrived in Hungary, while deliveries are continuous on the airborne Silk Road as well," he said.

Hungary has "already done much to become China's most important partner in the region: we jointly built the largest solar power plant in Central Europe in Kaposvar, southern Hungary," he said.

With the new agreements, "we will gain an advantage over our competitors in sectors that are the pillars for a lasting increase in Hungary's competitiveness," he noted.

China and Central and Eastern European countries agreed in February 2021 to expand their cooperation in the digital and green economy.

Under the new agreements, China and Hungary agreed to cooperate to accelerate digital transformation in all sectors of the economy and to cooperate on adopting new business models, digital skills training and innovation in digital technologies.

They also agreed to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of green economy and clean energy, coordinate sectoral strategies and policies, and promote green developments, the statement said.