Xi attends welcome ceremony held by Hungarian president, PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday attended a welcome ceremony jointly hosted by Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on Thursday morning.

Xi, who arrived in Budapest late on Wednesday, is on a state visit to the Central European country at the invitation of Sulyok and Orban.

Hungary marks the last leg of Xi's three-nation European tour from May 5 to 10, which has already taken him to France and Serbia.

China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday the inclusion of some companies on its unreliable entities list as they sold arms to China's Taiwan region.

The companies include General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Boeing Defense, Space and Security. They will be barred from engaging in China-related import or export activities, and are forbidden to make new investments in China, the ministry said.

Senior executives of the companies are prohibited from entering China, while their work permits will be revoked, along with their visitor and residential status, and the related applications they submit will not be approved, according to the ministry.

"Such measures are being taken to safeguard China's national sovereignty, security and development interests," it said.

The ministry also said there was evidence that Caplugs of the United States circumvented the unreliable entities list regulations by transferring goods purchased from China to the unreliable entities.

The ministry urged Caplugs to take measures as soon as possible to ensure that all relevant goods, technologies and services purchased from China are not transferred to the unreliable entities, and that relevant evidentiary material be submitted to the office of the unreliable entities list as per the working mechanism.

Otherwise, the ministry said, the office will take measures against it in accordance with the laws and regulations.