During his meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries around the world to promote direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. Orbán made a surprise visit to China after visiting Russia and Ukraine as part of his peace initiative. Xi described China as a stabilizing force in the world and praised China's constructive peace initiative during his meeting with Orbán.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday and called on countries around the world to help resume direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, state-run CCTV reported.
Mr Orban made a surprise visit to China last week after visiting Russia and Ukraine to discuss prospects for a peaceful resolution to the war that has raged for more than two years. Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union this month and Mr Orban has since embarked on a peace drive that has not won the support of other European leaders.
“China is a key country in creating conditions for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Orban wrote on social media platform X. “That is why I met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing just two months after his state visit to Budapest.”
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Orban, widely seen as one of the European leaders with the closest ties to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited Moscow last week and drew criticism from Kiev and EU officials, who said he was not acting on behalf of the bloc as a whole.
In this photo released by Xinhua, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 8, 2024. During the meeting on Monday, Xi called on countries around the world to support the resumption of direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via The Associated Press)
Their rebukes did not dissuade Prime Minister Orbán from postponing a similar visit to Beijing, which he called “Peace Mission 3.0” in a photo he posted on X.
During his meeting with Xi, Prime Minister Orban described China as a stabilizing force amid global turmoil and praised China's “constructive and important” peace efforts.
China is pushing a six-point peace plan it jointly announced with Brazil in May. China claims to be neutral in the conflict but in practice has supported Moscow through frequent state visits, expanded trade and joint military exercises.
Xi, who hosted Orban, called on Russia and Ukraine to call for a ceasefire and urged other major powers to create a favorable environment for talks. A ceasefire can only be achieved if all major powers release “positive energy, not negative energy,” Xi said, according to China Central Television.
Just two months ago, Orban hosted the Chinese leader in Hungary as part of a three-nation European tour that also included France and Serbia, which, unlike the other two, is not a member of the EU or NATO.
In this photo released by Xinhua, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (second from left) talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8, 2024. (Ding Lin/Xinhua via The Associated Press)
During the visit, China upgraded its relations with Hungary to an “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership,” one of the highest diplomatic ties titles that applies only to Hungary, as well as Belarus, Pakistan and Venezuela.
Hungary under Orban's government has built strong political and economic ties with China. The European country has hosted many Chinese electric vehicle battery facilities, and in December Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD announced it would open its first electric vehicle production plant in Europe in southern Hungary.
Hungary's prime minister has broadly opposed Western military aid to Ukraine and has blocked, delayed or weakened EU efforts to support Kiev and impose sanctions on Moscow over the aggression. Orban has long advocated for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine but has not said what that would mean for the country's territorial integrity or future security.
That stance has irritated Hungary's EU and NATO allies, who have condemned Russia's aggression as a violation of international law and a threat to security in eastern Europe.
Standing alongside Orban in Moscow last week, Putin declared that Russia would not accept any ceasefire or temporary cessation of fighting that would allow Ukraine to “repair its losses, regroup and rearm.”
Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukrainian troops withdraw from four areas that Moscow claims to have annexed in 2022 as a condition for any future peace talks. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected the demand, suggesting it is tantamount to asking Kiev to withdraw from its territory.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin after their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 5, 2024. (AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Meanwhile, China has in recent years expanded its influence beyond its “unrestricted” cooperation with Moscow into Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Last weekend, China held “counter-terrorism” military exercises with Belarus, a key Russian ally, near the Polish border. The drills followed Belarus's joining a China-Russia led regional security organisation last week.
Orban is next due to travel to Washington, DC, where NATO leaders are due to hold a summit to discuss ways to ensure the alliance's continued support for Ukraine.
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“Next stop: Washington,” Orban posted on his social media accounts on Monday. It was unclear whether he would meet separately with President Joe Biden or with President Donald Trump, whose presidential candidate Orban has openly supported.