STORY: Hungarian minister highlights fruitful Hungary-China cooperation built on mutual respect
SHOOTING TIME: April 18, 2024
DATELINE: May 2, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:26
LOCATION: Budapest
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (Hungarian): MARTON NAGY, Hungarian Minister for National Economy
2. various of Budapest (file footage)
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Hungarian): MARTON NAGY, Hungarian Minister for National Economy
4. various of Chinese EVs (file footage)
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Hungarian): MARTON NAGY, Hungarian Minister for National Economy

STORYLINE:

In a recent interview, Hungarian Minister for National Economy Marton Nagy highlighted the fruitful cooperation between Hungary and China across diverse sectors, emphasizing that this cooperation is underscored by a relationship founded on mutual respect.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Hungarian): MARTON NAGY, Hungarian Minister for National Economy
"We respect each other. We respect what we have achieved, and we respect each other's cultures.
In 2023, Hungary was able to attract a total of 13 billion euros (about 13.9 billion U.S. dollars) in investments, of which nearly 8 billion euros were related to Chinese investments, which will materialize in the coming years.
It's particularly noteworthy that the Bank of China has been in Hungary for 21 years, followed by a branch of the China Construction Bank. And we welcomed the representation of the China Development Bank. Chinese economy influences the global economy and also Hungary's performance."

The minister said China is on the right track based on its strategic thinking, noting China's successful development of the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem as an example.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Hungarian): MARTON NAGY, Hungarian Minister for National Economy
"Chinese thinking is a comprehensive strategic thinking, developing foreign trade, capital investment, and also infrastructure and logistics. Electric vehicle development is an ecosystem. It generally consists of solar panels, charging stations, not just at home but also along roads, and consists of the electric car itself and the battery. China is developing everything at once."

Commenting on the EU anti-subsidy probe into Chinese EVs, the minister said protectionism is a dead end for economic development. 

He regarded the investment accompanying China's EV industry growth as an opportunity for Hungary.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Hungarian): MARTON NAGY, Hungarian Minister for National Economy
"We hope that the world will shift from this perspective. Protectionism has always shown that it is a dead end, for economic development. Only competition can force an increase in competitiveness in Europe.
Chinese electric car manufacturers and battery manufacturers are emerging, representing a much higher quality than Western car manufacturers.
Hungary has given space to this and has also gained trust as Hungary has become a significant center for electric car and battery manufacturing."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Budapest.
(XHTV)