- Chinese President Xi Jinping urged world powers to facilitate direct talks between Russia and Ukraine during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
- Orban made an unexpected visit to China after travelling to Russia and Ukraine as part of a peace initiative.
- Xi described China as a global stabilising force and praised its constructive peace initiatives during talks with Orban.
Chinese President Xi Jinping World powers were urged to help restart direct talks between Russia and Ukraine at a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Orban made the surprise visit to China after similar trips to Russia and Ukraine last week, where he discussed the possibilities for a peaceful resolution to the more than two-year-long war. Hungary took over the EU presidency this month and Orban has since embarked on a peace mission that has not received the support of other European leaders.
“China is a major force in creating conditions for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Orban wrote on the social media platform X. “This is why I have come to meet President Xi in Beijing just two months after his official visit to Budapest.”
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Orban is considered to have the warmest relations among European leaders with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. His visit to Moscow last week was condemned by Kiev and EU officials, who insisted Orban was not acting on behalf of the entire European bloc.
In this photo released by Xinhua news agency, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8, 2024. Xi called on world powers to help restart direct talks between Russia and Ukraine during a meeting on Monday. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP)
Her rebuke did not deter Orban from making a similar trip to Beijing, which he called “Peace Mission 3.0” in a photo posted on X.
During his meeting with Xi, Orban described China as a stabilizing force amid global turmoil and praised its “constructive and important” peace initiatives.
China has is promoting its own six-point peace plan, which it released with Brazil in May. Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict, though in practice it supports Moscow through frequent state visits, growing trade and joint military exercises.
Hosting Orban, Xi called on Russia and Ukraine to declare a ceasefire and other major powers to create a favorable environment for talks. According to CCTV, Xi said a ceasefire could only happen if all major powers projected “positive energy instead of negative energy.”
Orban hosted the Chinese leader in Hungary just two months ago, part of a three-country European trip that also included stops in France and Serbia, which unlike the other two is not a member of the EU or NATO.
In this photo released by Xinhua news agency, 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, July 8, 2024. (Ding Lin/Xinhua via AP)
During the visit, China upgraded its relations with Hungary to an “all-weather, comprehensive strategic partnership”, its highest recognition for foreign relations, which besides Hungary applies only to Belarus, Pakistan and Venezuela.
Hungary under Orban has forged solid political and economic ties with China. The European nation has several Chinese electric vehicle battery plants, and in December it announced that Chinese EV manufacturing giant BYD would open its first European EV production factory in the south of the country.
Hungary’s prime minister opposes broad Western military aid to Ukraine and has blocked, delayed or weakened EU efforts to aid Kiev and impose sanctions on Moscow for its invasion. Orban has long advocated an end to hostilities in Ukraine, but has not elaborated on what that might mean for the country’s territorial integrity or future security.
The stance has frustrated Hungary’s EU and NATO allies, who have called Russia’s aggression a violation of international law and a threat to the security of eastern Europe.
Standing alongside Orban in Moscow last week, Putin declared that Russia would not accept any ceasefire or even a temporary pause in hostilities that would allow Ukraine to “recover losses, regroup and rearm.”
Putin reiterated his demand that Ukraine withdraw its troops from four regions Moscow claims it has occupied as a condition for any potential peace talks in 2022. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected the demand, suggesting it is akin to asking Kiev to withdraw from its own territory.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Meanwhile, China has in recent years expanded its influence into Central Asia and Eastern Europe beyond its “no borders” partnership with Moscow. Over the weekend, China conducted “anti-terrorism” military exercises with Belarus — a key ally of Russia — near the border with Poland. The drills come after Belarus joined the regional security organisation led by China and Russia last week.
Orban will then travel to Washington DC, where NATO leaders are holding a summit to discuss ways to assure Ukraine of the alliance’s continued support.
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Orban wrote on his social media account on Monday, “Next stop: Washington.” It was unclear whether he would meet separately with President Joe Biden or Donald Trump, whose presidential candidacy Orban openly supports.
