Hungarian EU Presidency Seeks to Advance Cooperation With China

Developing cooperation with China, putting it back on a stable path, can make a big contribution to achieving environmental and competitiveness targets, Mr Szijjarto said in Vienna, where he was holding meetings.

He said it was "essential" for European-Chinese ties to be "a pragmatic, objective cooperation based on mutual respect, instead of ideologies".

Economic cooperation with China could play "a big role" in a recovery of Europe's competitiveness, he said. Hungary is "the best example" of the positive impact of East-West economic cooperation that is based on mutual respect and common sense, he added.

"It would do the European Union good, economically, to cooperate more closely and more effectively with China in the coming period, instead of taking an ideological approach, striving for isolation and introducing punitive tariffs," he said. He added that a trade war with China would put "hundreds of thousands" of jobs at risk.

He said that automotive industry insiders had told him that the punitive tariffs the EU wanted to levy on Chinese EV manufacturers were "cause for serious concern". 

Close cooperation with Chinese suppliers is of "fundamental importance" for Western European car makers in the transition to electromobility, he said. He warned that a slowdown in that transition would cause Europe to fall short of its targets for cutting emissions.

He noted that China was a committed advocate for peace, pointing to a Brazilian-Chinese peace plan that provided a good foundation for a ceasefire and peace talks in Ukraine.