Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had talks with chairman of China and the world’s largest bank 

On Wednesday in Beijing, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had talks with Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Chen Siqing; the ICBC is the world’s largest bank by total assets, and the financial institution with the highest market capitalisation in China, Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s press chief informed the Hungarian news agency MTI, outlining details of the joint press communication issued by the parties after the meeting. 

According to the document, the Hungarian Prime Minister and his delegation visited the ICBC where he had talks with the Chairman of the Board of Directors about the high-level cooperation of the two countries as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The communication recalls that the ICBC signed an agreement with the Ministry for Economic Development in which the parties agreed on the intensification of cooperation in the areas of yuan-denominated bond offerings, international yuan-based settlements, investments, financing, the construction of infrastructure, green finance, financial technologies and international online trade as well as on other issues. 

The communication highlights that the Hungarian Prime Minister acknowledged the ICBC’s role in the expansion of the Hungarian economy and trade as well as in Chinese-Hungarian trade relations. Mr Orbán provided details with respect to the growth of the Hungarian economy, and outlined the government’s plans with a view to supporting industries with a competitive edge and Chinese businesses investing in Hungary. He encouraged further Chinese companies to invest in Hungary, and stated that he was counting on the ICBC’s cooperation as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

“China and Hungary are faithful partners in the Belt and Road Initiative,” Mr Chen observed, taking the view that the friendship of the two countries has a long history, and there are opportunities for further cooperation in every field. He said, based on the extensive cooperation in the past and the agreement of state leaders, in the future the ICBC will use its advantage gained in the area of global services to support the close relationship between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Hungarian national strategy, to provide better financial services on the Hungarian as well as on the Eastern and Central European markets, and to contribute to the results of the economic, trade and pragmatic financial cooperation between China and Hungary. 

Photo: Fischer Zoltán

According to the communication, the ICBC has so far established 415 institutions in 49 countries around the world, and is also present in 20 African countries indirectly. They recall that in the past decade the bank has significantly extended the financial channels made available to the countries taking part in the initiative and has supported China’s global opening. They further mention that the ICBC led the establishment of the Belt and Road Bankers Roundtable with the assistance of the Chinese central bank in which today as many as 164 financial institutions from 71 countries participate. At the same time, in 2021 the ICBC initiated the establishment of the China-Europe Business Council. 

In the context of Hungary, the communication mentions that in 2021 they signed an agreement with the Hungarian central bank and Hungary’s largest financial institution OTP.