Chinese president to visit Serbia and Hungary

This is the Chinese president’s first tour to Europe since the Covid-19 pandemic. After his two-day visit to France, he will travel to Serbia and Hungary, two economic and political partners.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the Élysée on Monday May 6 for the start of a two-day state visit to France. The Chinese president will then continue his European tour in Hungary and Serbia, two stops which may seem surprising, but which can be explained by economic and geopolitical ties.

Serbia is a gateway to Europe and China is the country’s second largest economic partner. Budapest will be the Chinese president’s second stop in Europe, with Viktor Orban the most Sinophile of European leaders. He made his country a bridgehead for China in Europe.

Serbia: Beijing participates in 60 infrastructure projects

Xi Jinping tours European countries important to China. If the Chinese president sees France as the leader in Europe, he also knows that Serbia is one of his privileged gateways to the continent, for several reasons both geopolitical and economic. With the war in Ukraine, the gateway to Europe that constitutes the Balkans is gaining importance, and Serbia, due to its strategic geographical position, figures prominently on the “new silk roads”, this pharaonic Chinese project. which aims to create a logistics corridor between China and, in particular, Europe.

China is Serbia’s second largest economic partner, behind Germany. Trade between Serbia and China has increased 100-fold in just over 10 years. Beijing is participating in 60 infrastructure projects in Serbia, worth 19 billion euros, and provides a third of the country’s foreign investments. Chinese companies have also bought Serbian heavy industries in the metallurgical and energy sectors. A free trade agreement was even signed in 2023 between the two countries.

“Iron friendship”: China does not recognize Kosovo

For Xi Jinping, the visit to Serbia is the assurance of not receiving any criticism in terms of human rights, for example. The two countries also have a common approach to the territorial integrity of the territories. Thus, China does not recognize Kosovo at the United Nations, while Belgrade supports Beijing on Taiwan and Tibet. But for the Serbian president Aleksandar VučićChina’s support is invaluable as Serbia faces increasing criticism over the paramilitary attack in Kosovo in September 2023, restrictions on media freedom and barely hidden fraud in the December 2023 parliamentary and municipal elections . “Iron Friendship”, this is how the Sino-Serbian relationship is described in Belgrade, helps to counterbalance the criticism from Brussels and Washington. If pressure from the West becomes too strong, Serbia can always strengthen its ties with Russia and China, ties which have never been threatened for around fifteen years.

Hungary: Beijing invests 8 billion euros in 2023

For Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Beijing has become a major partner. As proof, a very telling figure. In 2023, Hungary attracted 13 billion euros in foreign investments and of these 13 billion, 8 billion came from Chinese investments. For example, the Chinese BYD, the largest manufacturer of electric cars in the world, is building its first European factory in the south of Hungary, in Szeged. The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs recently welcomed this. “BYD, the world’s leading electric car manufacturer, has decided to set up its first European factory here in Szeged. This decision consolidates Hungary’s economic position. It will also strengthen Hungary’s position in the global electric car market. ‘electric automobile industry’did he declare.

Two large Chinese manufacturers of batteries for electric cars are also in the process of setting up in Hungary, to supply German factories long established in the country. BMW, Audi and even Mercedes now produce electric cars. Hungary has become Germany’s backyard. These German firms need battery suppliers next to their factories.

Shared public opinion

There is also a political dimension. Viktor Orban was the first European to sign the Silk Roads Partnership. For Viktor Orban’s voters, opening up to China is a good thing. Public television and the numerous private media owned by Viktor Orban’s clan continue to repeat that China is a fantastic partner, and that Hungarian companies benefit from this rapprochement.

Hungarians who do not vote for Viktor Orban, who get their information from independent media, are much more worried. They think their Prime Minister is moving away from Europe and getting too close to Beijing. Beijing will finance the railway line between Budapest and Belgrade. In exchange, Viktor Orban agreed that Chinese police officers would soon patrol Hungarian streets. This worries a lot of Hungarians.