Talks with Xi

Orbán on “peace mission 3.0.” in Beijing

Hungarian President Viktor Orban (left) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) in Beijing.

(Bild: APA/AFP/X ACCOUNT OF HUNGARY‘S PRIME)

Eight days after the start of Hungary's presidency of the EU Council, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán made another trip abroad - following his visit to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This time he was drawn to China ...

"China is a decisive power in creating the conditions for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. That's why I came to meet President Xi in Beijing," Orbán said about his "peace mission". As a photo distributed by Orbán on X showed, he had already met the Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping on Monday.

On his arrival in Beijing, the right-wing conservative Hungarian head of government had already spoken of a "peace mission 3.0", in an obvious allusion to his visits to Kiev and Moscow the previous week. Orbán was sharply criticized by his EU partners for his meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Hungary holds the presidency of the EU Council for the second half of the year, but this does not entail any powers of representation in the area of foreign policy.

Orbán stabbed Cyprus in the back
Only the permanent EU Council President Charles Michel and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell are authorized to do so. Borrell only pointed this out on Saturday evening after Orbán also took part in the summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Azerbaijan, thereby stabbing the EU member state Cyprus in the back. The breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has established a secessionist regime in the northern part of the EU state with military support from Turkey, is also an observer of the organization.

Critic of Kiev's military support
Before his visit to the Kremlin, Orbán had also visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in Kiev. Orbán is considered a critic of Kiev's military support and the sanctions policy against the aggressor Russia. At EU level, he recently joined forces with FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl and former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš to launch a new right-wing alliance that intends to form a new political group in the European Parliament on Monday under the name "Patriots for Europe".

The Hungarian embassy in Beijing

(Bild: APA/AFP/Pedro PARDO)

A man enters the consular section of the Hungarian embassy in Beijing on Monday.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Pedro PARDO)

Orbán's visit to China comes just a few days before the NATO summit in Washington, which is to discuss further military aid for Ukraine. Orban, who of all EU heads of state and government maintains the closest relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said last week that he had realized that he did not have an EU mandate to travel to Moscow, but that peace could not be made "from a comfortable armchair in Brussels".

China wants to mediate between Russia and Ukraine
China is trying to present itself as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. On the one hand, it is emphasizing its commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, while on the other hand it is providing massive economic support to the aggressor Russia. According to observers, China is keen for the West to spend itself economically and militarily in the conflict with Russia. The Chinese head of state and government visited Hungary in May as part of a trip to Europe, which also took him to Paris and Belgrade. In October, Orbán was one of the few European representatives and the only EU head of government to take part in China's forum on the "New Silk Road". Hungary is also part of the Chinese investment project with which the People's Republic is implementing infrastructure projects worldwide and thus expanding its influence. Other Western countries are trying to reduce their economic dependence on China, partly as a lesson from Russia's aggression.