The government's task is to ensure that Hungary stays out of the recession lurking in Europe and remains on the path of economic growth, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Wednesday at the Huawei European Innovation Day in Várkert Bazar, which is still taking place at the time of writing this article.

According to the audio recording sent to MTI, Péter Szijjártó said at the event: Europe is rushing towards an economic recession, and there is a serious security crisis on the continent.

Speaking about the coronavirus epidemic and the war, he noted: it is difficult to find an example in world history of the last few years when the world economy was "turned upside down" twice.

The only way to keep the Hungarian economy on a growth path in this European recessionary environment is if we are able to continuously attract job-creating investments to Hungary and raise the technological level of the Hungarian economy, the minister stated.

He emphasized: Chinese companies prove to be excellent partners in these efforts, and through their investments they support the government's efforts even in this difficult economic situation.

The head of the ministry indicated that 70 percent of the investments made in the world are currently behind Eastern companies and Eastern capital, while Western investments are behind 30 percent of them.

The large Chinese companies are gaining an increasingly important market share in Europe and are also increasing their presence through their investments, said Péter Szijjártó. "Hungary's interest in this environment is that as many large Chinese investments as possible come to our country," he underlined.

He added: The Chinese CATL can manufacture batteries in Hungary, which is the largest domestic investment of all time and one of the most significant in Europe. At the same time, Huawei's research center operating in Budapest and their logistics center in Biatorbágy also offer special advantages.

According to Péter Szijjártó, the result of the policy of opening up to the east is that, as in 2020, most investments will come to Hungary from China this year.

He stated: In the future, Hungary will not discriminate against companies making investments on the basis of which country they come from. "One thing matters: investing companies must respect laws and regulations," said the head of the ministry. He added that this principle applies even when there is serious international pressure on the Hungarian government not to allow Huawei in. "However, Huawei's investment is a source of pride for us," he emphasized.

The minister reminded that the Chinese telecommunications company has been present in Hungary for 15 years and is the first Chinese company with which the government concluded a strategic agreement.

Cooperation with the company clearly indicates Hungary's openness to innovation, new ideas, dialogue based on equality and mutual respect, and value-creating work, said Péter Szijjártó.

He also touched on the fact that last year the government spent about HUF 1,000 billion on research and development, there are more than 3,600 research sites in Hungary, and more than 90,000 people are engaged in research and development at home.

According to the ministry, Marco Kamiya, innovation and digital director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, will speak at the Huawei European Innovation Day event; Jeff Wang, Huawei's president of public affairs and communications, logs in online. Marco Xu, Huawei's director of public affairs and communications, and István Ujhelyi, a member of the European Parliament, will also speak. At the all-day event, Huawei will present its latest ideas and innovations. During the day, several industry players, Huawei's partners, as well as government and university participants.

Source: Magyar Hírlap

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