Xi’s visit to promote bilateral collaboration in various fields: Budapest residents

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Hungary will promote bilateral collaboration in various fields and open up a new chapter for the relations of the two countries, according to some residents of the Hungarian capital Budapest.

A signed article by the Chinese president titled "Embarking on a Golden Voyage in China-Hungary Relations" was published in the Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet on Thursday to coincide with Xi's state visit.

Meanwhile, the main streets in Budapest have been adorned with Chinese and Hungarian national flags to welcome President Xi.

"I'm very happy about the fact that he comes and I would like to come to welcome the president," said one Budpapest resident.

"You can see that we put the Chinese and the Hungarian flags here. So I think almost everyone knows that. China is a really great nation," said another.

Andras Bencsik, editor-in-chief of the weekly political magazine Magyar Demokrata, said that Xi's belief in peace and understanding echoes back Hungary's concept.

"It had a great meaning for Hungary because for us very important, the connectivity, the good connection between the east and the west. We believe in the peace. It is the most important thing for us. And I am very glad that Mr. Xi Jinping, he believes in the peace, the understanding," said Bencsik.

"I think President Xi's visit to Hungary can be seen as a historical moment in the relationships between the two countries, and I'm really sure that it will further promote the collaboration in various fields between the two countries. I'm really hoping that it will also show in the cultural field," said an assistant professor at Karoli Gaspar University.

Hungary is the first European country to sign a Belt and Road cooperation document with China. The two countries have made great progress under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Budapest-Belgrade railway, a flagship BRI project, not only benefits the two countries but also facilitates the economic development of the entire region.

"On behalf of the Hungarian Workers' Party, I would like to express our best wishes to President Xi Jinping coming to Hungary. Welcome Mr. President to Hungary. It is a historic visit. I think that the main idea of the One Belt, One Road cooperation is a very important one, and Hungary is participating in this program," said Thurmer Gyula, president of Hungarian Workers' Party.

Xi’s visit to promote bilateral collaboration in various fields: Budapest residents

The 23rd "Chinese Bridge" -- a Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign college students -- was held in the Capitol Hill Campus of the University of Liberia in Monrovia, capital of Liberia, last Friday.

Nearly 300 people, including the finalists participating in the competition, Chinese Ambassador to Liberia Yin Chengwu, officials from the Liberian government, representatives from local Chinese-funded companies and institutions and students and teachers from the Confucius Institute at the University of Liberia, were present at this event.

The Liberia division finals of this year's "Chinese Bridge" competition covered speech, Q and A sessions over Chinese culture and a talent show.

In the competition, the finalists staged performances such as Wushu (martial arts), traditional Chinese opera, classical Chinese dance and Chinese poetry recitation to showcase their gasp of Chinese culture.

The contest concluded with a contestant dubbed "Ming Juan" being declared the winner. The winner will later represent the country to compete at the global contest in China.

Since its inception in 2002, the Chinese Bridge program has seen the participation of more than 1.5 million young people from more than 160 countries in the overseas preliminaries, and more than 7,000 outstanding contestants have been invited to China to participate in the global finals. The competition has become a popular international event among Chinese language learners worldwide.

University of Liberia hosts 23rd Chinese Proficiency Competition finals