Sino-Hungarian relations
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Updated: 2004-06-08 11:34

I. Review of the Bilateral Political Relations

On October 4, 1949, Hungary announced recognition of the People's Republic of China, and on October 6, the two countries established diplomatic relations. After the establishment of diplomatic relations, there witnessed a comprehensive development in the friendly relations between the two countries, frequent mutual visits by their leaders and other exchanges in different forms, constant expansion of cooperation in all areas, and the further deepening of friendship between the two peoples. The two countries supported each other in close cooperation in international affairs. Hungary actively supported China in its war to resist U. S. aggression and aid Korea, in its struggle for the reunification of the motherland and restoration of its lawful seat in the United Nations, and on the question of Tibet. High-level mutual visits were frequent. In 1956, Vice Chairman Zhu De visited Hungary, and in January 1957, Premier Zhou Enlai visited Hungary. In September 1957, the Hungarian Government Delegation headed by Prime Minister Kardar Janos visited China, and the two sides issued a joint statement. In March 1959, the Chinese Party and Government Delegation led by Vice Chairman Zhu De visited Hungary. In April, Hungarian Prime Minister Munnich, who was also a member of the Political Bureau of the Hungarian Socialist Labor Party, led the Hungarian Party and Government Delegation to China, and formally signed with Premier Zhou Enlai the treaty of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. In September 1959, Hungarian President Dobi of the Presidium of the People's Republic of Hungary led a party and government delegation to visit China. In December 1959, Comrade Tan Zhen-lin, a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), attended the 7th National Congress of the Hungarian Socialist Labor Party.

From 1960-1966, the relations between the two countries grew cold with increasing frictions; nevertheless, the normal state-to-state relations were basically maintained. From 1966-1969, the ideological differences between the two Parties increased, and with the outbreak of the ?Cultural Revolution? in China, the bilateral relations deteriorated. From 1970-1979, the two countries maintained normal state relations, but contacts between the two Parties broke off. From 1980-1989, through joint efforts the relations between the two countries and the two Parties gradually normalized, with the level of mutual visits raised and the area of cooperation expanded. In June 1984, the state councilor and minister of foreign economic relations and trade Chen Mu-hua visited Hungary. The visit, which was of the highest level for the past twenty years, led to a break through in the relations between the two Parties and served as an impetus to the bilateral economic and trade relations and the economic and technological cooperation. In august 1984, Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Marjai visited China. In May 1985, Vice Premier Li Peng paid an official visit to Hungary, and the two sides signed the long-term trade agreement for the period from 1986 to 1990. In June 1986, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian paid an official visit to Hungary. In August, the Hungarian deputy prime minister and director of the state planning bureau Faluvegi visited China. In September, Vice Chairman Liao Hansheng of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China led the NPC delegation to visit Hungary. In 1987, the Sino-Hungarian relations entered a new era, and the top leaders of the two Parties exchanged visits. In January 1987, Havasi Ferenc, a member of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Labor Party (HSLP), paid a goodwill visit to China at the invitation of the CPC Central Committee. In June 1987, at the invitation of General Secretary Kadar Janos of the HSLP Central Committee and Prime Minister Lazar Gyorgy, Premier Zhao Ziyang, the acting general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, paid an official goodwill visit to Hungary. In October 1987, General Secretary Kardar paid an official goodwill visit to China. In October 1988, Qiao Shi, a member of Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, visited Hungary, and Chairman Istvan of the Hungarian National Congress led a congressional delegation to visit China. In December 1988, Hungarian Foreign Minister paid an official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen.

After the drastic changes took place in Hungary in 1989, the bilateral exchanges decreased until March 1991, when Foreign Minister Qian Qichen visited Hungary, and the relations were moving gradually toward normalization. Foreign Minister Qian's visit was the first one by a Chinese foreign minister after the drastic changes occurred in Hungary, and had important significance for the development of Sino-Hungarian relations. During the visit, the two sides reached consensus that the bilateral relations should be established and developed on the basis of the five principles of peaceful co-existence transcending differences in social system. In September?the vice chairman of the Hungarian National Congress led a Congressional delegation to China. In April 1992, Hungarian Foreign Minister Jeszenszky visited China, and the two Governments signed a new agreement on mutual exemption of visas. In May, NPC Standing Committee Vice Chairwoman Chen Muhua paid a goodwill visit to Hungary. In September 1993, Vice Premier Zou Jia Hua visited Hungary, and the two sides signed the government agreement on air transport. In October, Hungarian Congress Chairman Szabad paid an official goodwill visit to China. In September 1994, Hungarian President Goncz Arpad paid a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Jiang Zemin. In October, the vice chairman of the CPPCC National Committee Wan Guoquan led a delegation to visit Hungary. In July 1995, at the invitation of Hungarian President Goncz Arpad, PRC President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to Hungary, which was the first presidential visit to Hungary by China since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the visit, Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qi-chen and Hungarian Foreign Minister Kowach signed the agreement on mutual assistance and cooperation between the customs of the two countries. In October, NPC Standing Committee Vice Chairman Li Peiyao visited Hungary, and Hungarian Justice Minister visited China and signed with his Chinese counterpart the agreement on civil and commercial judicial assistance. In May 1996, Vice Premier Li Lan-qing visited Hungary. In December, Hungarian Foreign Minister Kowach visited China, and the two sides signed the protocol on cooperation between the two foreign ministries. In May 1997, Hungarian Congress Chairman Zoltan visited China. In June 1999, the minister of the Prime Minister's Office of Hungary Istvan paid a goodwill visit to China at the invitation of Wang Zhong-yu, state councilor and secretary general of the State Council. On September 30, the Chinese ambassador to Hungary Chen Guoyan hosted a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. President Goncz and six ministers attended the reception, an unprecedented attendance by Hungarian officials in recent years with regard to the national day receptions by the diplomatic missions in Hungary. October 6, 1999 witnessed the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary. To mark the occasion, the two countries hosted a series of celebration activities. Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan exchanged congratulatory messages with President Goncz and Foreign Minister Martonyi respectively. The foreign minister of each country attended the banquet to mark the occasion given by the ambassador of the other. The Friendship Associations of the two countries hosted receptions. And the China National Philatelic Corporation published commemorative envelopes.Huang Ju, Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC (June 2002). In November, Hungarian Foreign Minister Martonyi paid an official visit to China. In June 2000, NPC Standing Committee Vice Chairman Buhe visited Hungary. In December, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan paid an official visit to Hungary, and signed with Foreign Minister Martonyi the joint statement of the two Governments. Solt, President of the Supreme Court of Hungary (June 2002).

II. Bilateral Economic and Trade Relations and Economic and Technological Cooperation

From 1950 to 1990, the two Governments conducted their trade by keeping accounts under government agreements. In 1991, the two countries replaced this clearing- agreements trade with trade by payments in convertible foreign exchanges, and the bilateral trade volume decreased by a big margin for a time, but soon showed a tendency of increasing year by year. The annual trade volume increased from US$55.6 million in 1991 to US$409 million in 1994, and afterwards decreased somewhat. The trade volume in 1997 was US$322 million, in 1998 US$410 million, and in 1999 it rose to US$622 million. In 2000, the trade volume reached US$997 million, ranking first in China's trade with the countries in central and east Europe. China has a rather big surplus after 1993, and Hungary is eager to expand export to China. In 2001, the bilateral trade volume reached U.S.$ 1.16 billion, a record in history. It was U.S.$ 0.978 billion in January-August 2002, up 23.9% than the same period of last year. Of the total, China's export was U.S.$ 0.867 billion, up 24.4%; its import U.S.$ 0.111 billion, up 19.7%.

In 1984, the Sino-Hungarian Committee of Economic and Trade, and Scientific and Technological Cooperation was established. In May 1991, the minister of foreign trade and economy cooperation Li Lanqi led a government trade and economic delegation to Hungary and signed the agreement on investment protection between the two countries. In May 1992, the China Trade Center in Budapest was open for business. In June, the government agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion was signed in Beijing. In 1997, China and Hungary signed the bilateral market access agreement with respect to China's entry into the WTO. In March, the ninth meeting of the Sino-Hungarian Committee of Economic and Trade, and Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held in Budapest. In July, the chairman of the Hungarian Economic Cabinet and minister of finance visited China at the invitation of Vice Premier Li Lanqing. In October, the representative office of the Bank of China in Budapest was open for business. In September 1998, the Hungarian Airlines opened the Budapest-Beijing air route. In November, the chairman of the Hungarian Economic Cabinet and minister of economy visited China on invitation. In May 1999, the governor of the Hungarian National Bank Gyorgy visited China. In October, the 10th Meeting of the Sino-Hungarian Committee of Economic and Trade, and Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held in Beijing. In November 2000, the assistant minister of foreign trade and economic cooperation He Xiaowei led an economic and trade delegation to visit Hungary. In March 2002, a Chinese delegation headed by Zhou Keren, Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, went to Hungary to participate in the 11th meeting of the China-Hungary Economic and Trade, Scientific and Technological Cooperation Commission.

According to incomplete statistics, China's state-owned enterprises have registered several hundred companies of different kinds in Hungary, and the Hungarian Chinese have several thousand private trading companies, hundreds of Chinese restaurants and many stores, as well as farms, acupuncture clinics, bean-curd workshops, photo processing shops, hair saloons, travel agencies and hotels. Up to now, the total amount of Chinese investment in Hungary is over US$100 million. As of the first half of 2000, Hungary had 333 investment projects in China, and had contracted US$174 million for investment and actually invested US$53.07 million in China.

III. Bilateral Exchanges and Cooperation in the Fields of Culture, Science and Technology and Education

In July 1950, China and Hungary decided to exchange language students. In July 1951, the agreement on cultural cooperation between the two countries was signed in Beijing. Later, the two countries signed in succession the agreements on exchange of films, exchange of news materials, mutual purchase of films, import and export of stamps, radio cooperation, and etc. In the 1950s, the two sides had frequent exchange of delegations in culture, literature and arts and sports. The two sides often held exhibitions of paintings, arts and crafts shows, lectures, and activities to commemorate well-known historical figures, and engaged in language research and translation of books and magazines. After the 1956 Incident, the exchanges between the two countries further increased. From 1960 to 1966, the cultural exchanges declined, but the exchange of group visits maintained the momentum to a certain degree and the cultural exchanges were normal on the whole. From 1967, the cultural exchanges between the two countries stopped for several years, and gradually resumed in the 1970s, during which there was no exchange of students. In the 1980s, with the gradual normalization of the Sino-Hungarian relations, the exchanges in culture and sports were further strengthened. In August 1982, the two countries resumed the exchange of language students. In November 1987, the Chinese government cultural delegation headed by Cultural Minister Wang Meng paid a visit to Hungary. In May 1989, Health Minister Chen Bingzhang visited Hungary. During the visit, Minister Chen Bingzhang and Hungarian Public Health Minister Csehak signed the 1989-1990 implementation program of health and medical science cooperation between the two ministries. In October, the first Chinese Culture Week was held in Hungary in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. From 1990 to 1995, the exchanges between the two countries in areas of culture, education and sports were further enhanced, and the cooperation continually broadened. In November 1990, the Hungarian government cultural delegation headed by the deputy secretary of state of the Ministry of Culture and Education paid a visit to China. In January 1991, at the invitation of the State Sports Bureau of Hungary, the delegation of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission of China visited Hungary, and the two sides signed the 1991 sports exchange protocol. In July, the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education awarded the medal of For Hungarian Culture to the Chinese translator Xing Wansheng who translated Petofi's works of poems. In September, the Chinese assistant minister of culture Gao Yunjia and the secretary of state of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education Biszterszky signed in Budapest the 1991-1992 Program of Science, Education and Culture of the two Governments. In January 1992, the Exhibition of Chinese Arts and Crafts and Photography was held in Szekesfehervar, Hungary. In August, the exhibition of Chinese cultural relics of pottery wares in replicas was held in Esztergom, Hungary. In May 1993, the secretary of state of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education Biszterszky visited China, and together with Chinese Vice Cultural Minister Liu Deyou, signed the 1993-1994 cultural cooperation program between the two ministries. In February 1994, Liu Ji, the vice minister of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission of China, led a delegation to Hungary, and the two sides signed the agreement on sports exchanges for 1994. In April, Galov, the secretary of state of the State Sports Bureau of Hungary, visited China. In February 1995, the minister in charge of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission Wu Shaozu and the director of the State Sports Bureau of Hungary Gallov signed in Budapest the agreement on sports cooperation. In June, the vice minister of the State Education Commission of China Wang Mingda and a leading member of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education signed in Budapest the 1995-1997 working plan of educational cooperation between the State Education Commission of China and the Ministry of Culture and Education of Hungary. In October 1996, the secretary of state for administrative affairs of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education Maria visited China. In November 1997, Hungarian Minister Balinth of Culture and Education led a delegation to China on a working visit, and the two sides signed the agreement on mutual recognition of record of schooling and certificates of degree. In January 1999, the secretary of state for political affairs of the Hungarian Ministry of National Cultural Heritage visited China. In September, Hungarian Minister Hamori of National Cultural Heritage paid an official visit to China, and during the visit he conferred, on behalf of President Gancz, the Federation Cross on Xing Wanshing, Chinese translator of Petofi's works. In October, the Chinese government cultural delegation led by Assistant Cultural Minister Zhang Hualin paid an official friendly visit to Hungary. In May 2000, the deputy director of the State General Administration of Sport Yu Zaiqing led a delegation to visit Hungary. In June, the secretary of state for political affairs of the Hungarian Education Ministry led a delegation to visit China, and signed with the Chinese Education Ministry the 2000-2003 execution program of educational cooperation between the two countries. In early 2001, China had 2 Chinese language experts and 12 students lecturing or studying in Hungary, and Hungary had 1 Hungarian language teacher and 20 students lecturing or studying in China.

In August 1950, Wu Youxun and Hua Luogeng attended the mathematics conference in Hungary on invitation. In November, the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Guo Moruo led a delegation to attend the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. During 1950's, China sent delegations to attend academic meetings held in Hungary on many occasions, which include mathematics conference, conferences of microbiologists, meteorological experts, chemists, physicists, and economists. In 1953, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences elected Guo Moruo as its honorary academician. In July, the agreement on cooperation in post and telecommunication between the two countries was signed. In October, the Sino-Hungarian agreement on scientific and technological cooperation was signed in Beijing. At the end of 1954, the first meeting of the Sino-Hungarian Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee was held in Beijing. In December 1954, the two sides signed the agreement on the prevention of plant diseases and insect pests. In March 1957, China provided a free aid of equipment and materials for Hungary to restore meteorological institutes. In 1958, the agreement on scientific cooperation between China and Hungary was signed in Beijing. In the early stages of the scientific cooperation, the main activities were the exchange of information, and after the ninth meeting on science and technology cooperation held in May 1965, items of investigation were added.

After 1967, the bilateral scientific and technological cooperation suspended. In 1971, the two countries agreed to resume scientific and technological cooperation. From 1972, the Sino-Hungarian Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee resumed its meetings, which were held every year on rotation. From that time on, the cooperation programs were carried out smoothly on the whole. In November 1985, the president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Sztrab visited China and signed the execution plan of cooperation between the academies of the two countries for the period from 1986 to 1987. In January 1986, the president of the China Association for Science and Technology Zhou Peiyuan visited Hungary, and signed the agreement on cooperation between the two science and technology associations for the period from 1986 to 1990. In 1987, the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Teng Teng visited Hungary, and signed the 1988-1990 plan for executing the agreement on cooperation between the two academies of sciences. After 1989, the bilateral cooperation in science and technology was affected to a certain degree by the drastic changes in Hungary.

By 1991, the Sino-Hungarian Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee had held 30 regular meetings. The scope of cooperation reached the areas of electronics, chemical industry, communications, electric power equipment, manufacturing of transportation means, aluminum processing and vacuum technologies, and the mode of cooperation started with the exchange of technology information, seeds and nursery stock and developed into ways of exchanging specialists study groups, joint researches and sharing scientific and technological achievements. In September 1993, China held an exhibition to display the Chinese science and technology reports in Budapest to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the two countries. In August 1996, the 31st meeting of the Sino-Hungarian Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee was held in Beijing. In September, the vice minister of the State Science and Technology Commission Deng Nan visited Hungary. In November 1997, the chairman of the Hungarian National Technology Development Commission visited China and attended the seminar on the science and technology policies of the two countries. In March 1998, Ming Tinghua, deputy director of the Patent Office of China and vice president of the Chinese Inventor's Association, visited Hungary to attend the International Symposium on Inventors and Information Technology, as well as the Inventor's Olympic Contest and the 98 Exhibition of International Inventions by Talents. In June 1999, Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led the Chinese delegation to attend the World Science Conference in Budapest. In May 2000, the deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics Lu Chunheng visited Hungary. In June, the deputy director of the State Intellectual Property Office Wu Boming visited Hungary at the invitation of the Hungarian Patent Bureau. In September, the president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences visited China.

At the beginning of 2002, China has two experts of the Chinese language teaching and 12 students studying in Hungary. Hungary has a teacher of the Hungarian language working and 15 students studying in China.

In June 2002, the two countries signed the Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology between China and Hungary.

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