Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday called for more active measures to
boost two-way investment in China and Hungary to promote bilateral
cooperation.
Wen gave the call during his meeting with visiting Hungarian
Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany in Beijing.
The Chinese and Hungarian governments should "take active steps
to encourage enterprises to increase reciprocal investment" and
"expand partnership in infrastructure and high technologies", Wen
said.
CBTC Kft - a company set up by China's Genertec International
Advertising and Exhibition Corporation in Budapest - AsiaCenter Kft
and Fashion Mart Rt signed an agreement in Beijing to set up a
China Brand Trade Center in the Hungarian capital of Budapest to
market made-in-China brand goods for Europe.
The signing of the agreement coincided with Gyurcsany's four-day
official visit to China that began on Sunday.
The CBTC Kft will lease the premises of AsiaCenter and China
Mart in Budapest, covering an area of more than 200,000 sqm and an
investment value of 250 million euros, to set up the China Brand
Trade Center.
The CBTC Kft project will further strengthen the position of
Hungary as the gateway of branded Chinese products to the European
Union (EU).
"To keep deepening and expanding China-Hungary friendly and
cooperative relationship is the consensus reached by both sides and
conforms to the fundamental and long-term interests of the two
countries," Wen said.
The two countries should continue to maintain high-level
exchanges and intensify consultations and dialogues at various
levels to enhance mutual political trust, he said.
Corroborating Wen, Gyurcsany said China has become Hungary's
most important trade partner in Asia. He hoped Hungary would become
China's gateway of trade, investment, logistics, finance and
tourism in Central and East Europe.
"The robust growth of China's economy in the past 20 to 30 years
has convinced me that the 21st century will be China's century," he
said in his opening remarks at the talks. China has set a good
example for Hungary.
This is Gyurcsany's second visit to China as Hungary's prime
minister. During his stay in China, Gyurcsany will attend the
opening ceremony of the Hungary Festival. A series of Hungarian
activities will be held in major Chinese cities between September
2007 and April 2008, the prime minister said, will be a milestone
in further development of bilateral relations.
"Our key objective is to introduce Hungary and bring her closer
to the Chinese people, particularly the business community, and to
show that Hungary, with its open economy, extraordinary
geographical location, well-developed infrastructure and EU
membership, can be an important partner for China to invest and
promote tourism in the long term," Gyurcsany told Xinhua News
Agency before his China visit.
Apart from Beijing, Gyurcsany will also visit Shanghai.
Statistics from the Foreign Ministry show that the trade volume
between China and Hungary reached $2.57 billion in the first half
of this year, up 47.7 percent year-on-year.
(China Daily September 4, 2007)
