The annual conference on cooperation between China and Hungary within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework was held in Budapest on Thursday.
About 200 government officials, representatives from chambers of commerce and business sector, and heads of major media outlets and think tanks from both countries attended the conference. The attendees conducted in-depth exchanges and achieved practical results, injecting new vitality into China-Hungary cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road.
Hungary and China have achieved fruitful results in Belt and Road cooperation, Hungarian Minister for National Economy Marton Nagy said at the conference, citing the Hungary-Serbia railway project as an example.
Hungary sees China's economic development as an important opportunity, Nagy said, stressing that investment from Chinese companies has been driving the development of related industries.
Nagy said Hungary is willing to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructure and high-tech, and act as a link between China and Europe.
The Belt and Road Economic Information Partnership (BREIP) inaugurated an Eastern European liaison office during the conference, while the China NGO Network for International Exchanges launched a non-governmental Belt and Road cooperation project with Hungary. These were among several practical results achieved at the conference.
China-Hungary BRI conference held in Budapest
Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has said that the Paris Agreement wouldn't be reached if China didn't play a pivotal role in pushing it.
In an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) aired on Friday, Raffarin shared his views on how China and France should strengthen communication in the future, eliminate misunderstandings, and especially give play to their respective strengths to cope with common global challenges.
"I believe that managing the complexity of the relationship between the two great civilizations requires two important principles. The first is to respect and not judging people based on their differences, but recognizing that there are varied perspectives. There are many concepts, such as 'unity' and 'creation,' that we understand differently, and sometimes we need to consider these ideas from each other's point of view to promote mutual understanding. I think that's important. It is because of respect that the Chinese civilization has been able to develop for thousands of years, and the values it upholds have a long history and deserve respect," he said.
Meanwhile, Raffarin said countries need to focus on collaboration to tackle global challenges, and one significant example of this is the signing of the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on Dec. 12, 2015. It entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016.
Its overarching goal is to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
"We also need to work together on common issues. Only by collaborating on shared challenges can we make progress. Through our achievements in the Paris Agreement and our cooperation on climate change, I believe we can show that we are focused on common issues based on shared values. Therefore, I believe that we need to be respectful, proactive, and cooperative. We should acknowledge our differences without creating conflict. We need to be honest with each other, speak our minds, and above all, try to find common ground," he added.
While emphasizing China's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and advancing sustainable development, Raffarin underscored the importance of international cooperation in achieving the agreement's goals.
"I want to say that France has always expressed its sincere gratitude to China for agreeing to sign the Paris Agreement. The agreement would not have been possible without China's participation. We also see that China is making significant efforts in this regard. I have seen blue skies in Beijing many times, and I have observed actions taken in Shanghai to clean up the environment. Factories with high emissions have been closed down and replaced by more modern, greener ones. We see China putting a lot of effort into important issues, such as the push for electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Raffarin.
He also noted that the world should reach common ground on promoting the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind, as such a concept can foster a new kind of multilateralism, making the protection of the Earth and humanity the core strategy of global governance.
Former French PM commends China's contribution to Paris Agreement
