Xi Jinping embarrasses the EU and NATO in Serbia and Hungary

After difficult talks in France, Chinese President Xi Jinping is looking for his European supporters. This gives the Eurocritical leaders in Hungary and Serbia the prospect of a host of new investments. Even before his arrival, Xi praised the “independent foreign policy” of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to Europe in five years, trade frictions and difficult relations with France and the European Union have lingered in recent days. Until Friday, Xi will be a guest on more familiar and friendlier territory. On Tuesday evening he landed in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. On Wednesday evening he travels to Hungary.

These two countries are considered China’s most important allies on the European continent. Hungary is a member state of the European Union, Serbia a candidate country. Both countries also maintain very good ties with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and have been making eager use of Chinese investments for some time. In 2025, the capitals of Belgrade and Budapest will even be connected by a Chinese high-speed train and rail infrastructure.

The Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet published a very complimentary letter from Xi to Orban on Wednesday. The Chinese president praised the Hungarian leader for his ‘independent foreign policy’: ‘We braved power politics together at a time of very volatile international relations. As sovereign states, we maintain friendly relations with other countries.’

That statement rings true for Viktor Orban. The Hungarian Prime Minister flew to Beijing in October last year. He attended the annual meeting of the Chinese Silk Road, a project that appeals mainly to poorer countries and offers support for infrastructure investments. On the sidelines of the same summit, Orban also had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Once again, China has prepared additional investments for Hungary, including for the production of electric cars and batteries. According to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, up to 16 new cooperation deals will be signed in the coming days, including a nuclear energy program. According to China, Hungary could attract up to 30 billion euros in direct investments by the end of this year.

The cooperation between Hungary and China goes very far. Chinese police officers are allowed to patrol Hungary with Hungarian colleagues for internal security and public order. This surveillance is apparently also intended to keep an eye on Chinese workers at the new battery and electric car factories.

Serbian President Alexandar Vucic is also considered the most Eurocritical leader from the Western Balkans; he is also an associate of Vladimir Putin. He also rolled out the red carpet for Xi, who took advantage of his visit to slam NATO. He was referring to the NATO bombing during the war in Yugoslavia on May 7, which hit the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 and killed three. “The Chinese and Serbs will never forget this,” he said.

Vucic gave Xi the ‘warmest welcome in the world’. “If we have any problems, just call our friend Mr. President,” he said. And his statement that ‘Taiwan is indeed (part of) China’ shows that he is completely down for the Chinese president.

Vucic is also counting on Chinese support in the context of the Silk Road, including for the purchase of high-speed trains and the construction of a metro network in the capital. China previously invested billions in the mining and processing industries in Serbia and other Balkan countries. Beijing and Belgrade also signed a free trade agreement last year, including for agricultural products. That agreement will come into effect in July.