Study in progress丨The story of President Xi Jinping and Hungary

[Study in progress] At the invitation of Hungarian President Šuyuk and Prime Minister Orban, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Hungary. This is President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Hungary in 15 years. "Study in Progress" publishes an article to learn about the story of President Xi Jinping and Hungary.

On October 16, 2009, then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Photo by reporter Rao Aimin

In Budapest, the capital of Hungary, photos of President Xi Jinping and teachers and students are always hung on the wall of the lobby of the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School.

It was 2009, the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary. The then Vice President Xi Jinping paid an official visit to Hungary, during which he inspected this Hungarian-Chinese bilingual school.

The Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School was established in September 2004. It is the first public full-time school in Central and Eastern Europe that uses Chinese and the language of the host country to teach. At first, most of the students at the school came from Chinese families working and living in Hungary. Today, the school has expanded to 12 grades and 20 classes, with more than 500 students, most of whom are Hungarian-speaking students. In the 20 years since its establishment, this school has trained batches of successors to inherit the friendship between China and Hungary, and has played a unique role in promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries.

At that time, the students wrote a welcome message in Chinese on the blackboard: "Hello, Uncle Xi!" They also sang Chinese songs and performed ballet and martial arts programs.

Xi Jinping used the ancient Chinese saying "it takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people" to express his message for the development of the school. The students gave Xi Jinping a handmade gift with a small red heart painted on it and heart-warming blessings written next to it.

On February 7, 2023, in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao, students at the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School, were interviewed by reporters. Photo by reporter Deng Yaomin

On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2023, Hu Lingyue and Song Zhixiao, students of the Hungarian-Chinese Bilingual School, wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping and his wife, Professor Peng Liyuan, on behalf of all the students in the school. They paid New Year greetings according to Chinese customs, told about their feelings of studying Chinese in school for 12 years, and expressed that they would go to university in China and contribute to Hungary. China’s desire to contribute to friendship.

Soon, they received a reply from President Xi Jinping. "I know that you have persisted in learning Chinese for a long time and are determined to contribute to the friendship between China and Hungary. I applaud you." President Xi Jinping said in the letter that you are welcome to go to China to study at university after graduating from high school. He also hopes that more and more Hungarian teenagers will If you like Chinese and learn Chinese, if you have the opportunity to go to China, take a look, learn more about today's China and Chinese history and culture, and strive to be an envoy to inherit and develop the cause of China-Hungary friendship.

This heart-warming story is a true portrayal of President Xi Jinping's efforts to enhance the traditional friendship between China and Hungary and promote the development of bilateral relations.

Although China and Hungary are thousands of miles apart, the friendship between the two peoples has a long history. Hungary is one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with New China. On May 8 this year, President Xi Jinping published a signed article in the Hungarian media, praising the traditional friendship between China and Hungary as "like Hungary's Tokaji wine, fragrant, sweet, mellow and long-lasting."

During an interview in 2009, Xi Jinping said that many Chinese people his age had watched the Hungarian film "The Goose Herder". Chinese classics such as "A Dream of Red Mansions" have been translated into Hungarian for a long time.

In the signed article published this time, President Xi Jinping mentioned that Hungary’s “patriotic poet Petofi’s poems are universally loved, and the music of ‘Piano King’ Liszt is impassioned,” and praised the Hungarian people for their diligence, wisdom, openness and tolerance, courage to pioneer and innovation , “Inventions such as ballpoint pens, holograms, and the Rubik’s Cube are all shining points in the process of human civilization.”

In 2019, when Hungarian Prime Minister Orban came to China to meet with President Xi Jinping, he said, 10 years ago, I realized that Hungary’s future largely depends on its relationship with China. Hungary firmly believes that China will play a more active role in the current complex and ever-changing world.

In 2020, Hungary's COVID-19 prevention and control will face severe challenges. When the first batch of anti-epidemic materials purchased from China arrived in March of that year, Orban and government officials went to the airport to greet them. In May, President Xi Jinping had a phone call with Orban, emphasizing that China firmly supports the Hungarian government and people in their anti-epidemic efforts and will continue to provide Hungary with assistance within its capacity. "I believe that under your strong leadership, the hard-working Hungarian people will be able to defeat the epidemic as soon as possible."

On July 29, 2022, the China-Europe train from Hefei to Budapest, Hungary, departed from the Hefei North Railway Station Logistics Base, marking the official opening of the Hefei China-Europe train line to Budapest, Hungary. hair

Over the years, the two sides have established a high level of political mutual trust, and bilateral relations have entered the best period in history and entered the "golden channel."

Hungary is the first European country to sign a "Belt and Road" cooperation document with China. Orban once told President Xi Jinping that the “Belt and Road Initiative” is not a threat, but an opportunity. Hungary firmly supports it and actively joins it.

In October 2023, President Xi Jinping met with Orban at the Great Hall of the People - this was his third visit to China to attend the "Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum. President Xi Jinping said that this shows that you firmly support the construction of the “Belt and Road”. Orban responded with a smile: "I firmly believe that this initiative can change the world, change the world economy, and also bring benefits to more people."

In the new era, the two countries will focus on high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road", strengthen the in-depth docking of the two countries' strategies, deepen practical cooperation in various fields such as investment, infrastructure construction, finance, new energy, and communication technology, and jointly inject impetus into the recovery of the world economy.

Today, Hungary is China’s number one investment destination and important trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe. The cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results and is full of vitality.

On January 26, 2024, employees worked at the NIO European factory in Biotorbagy, Hungary. hair

Cooperation between the two countries in new energy and other fields is booming. Chinese new energy vehicle upstream and downstream companies such as NIO, BYD, and CATL have invested and set up factories in Hungary, which not only provides new momentum for the development of Sino-Hungarian relations, but also brings tangible benefits to the people of the two countries, becoming a major factor in the economic and trade relations between China and Hungary. A microcosm of development.

This year, China and Hungary celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. President Xi Jinping visited Hungary again to draw a new blueprint for the development of China-Hungary relations in the new era. This landmark visit will surely push bilateral relations to a new level, open a new chapter for China-Hungary friendly cooperation, lead China-Central and Eastern European countries to deepen and deepen cooperation, promote the stability and long-term development of China-EU relations, and contribute to safeguarding world peace and promoting Inject more positive energy into common development.