Orban arrives in China to discuss war between Ukraine and Russia

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in China on July 8, a few days after his visits to Kyiv and Moscow.

Orban, whose country took over the rotating EU Council presidency earlier this month, described the visit to Beijing as the third step in his “peace mission”.

“China is a key power in creating the conditions for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine. That is why I came to Beijing to meet with President Xi (Jinping), just two months after his official visit to Budapest,” Orban said on X.

China maintains a neutral position in the ongoing war, but has deepened its economic ties with Russia and has become Moscow’s main supplier of dual-use goods.

In addition, Beijing has proposed a peace plan together with Brazil as an alternative to Ukraine’s peace efforts and hopes for international support for its proposal.

Orban was greeted by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying upon his arrival and is expected to meet with Xi later.

The Hungarian Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow and his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 5 July have sparked outrage across the EU. European politicians stressed that the Presidency has no mandate to carry out “peacekeeping missions” on behalf of the EU and that Orban’s plan is a bilateral endeavour on the part of Hungary.

Budapest maintained close relations with Moscow throughout the entire war, obstructing the implementation of sanctions against Russia and criticising military aid to Kyiv on the grounds that it only “prolonged” and “escalated” the war.

During talks with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Orban said the two countries’ views on the prospects for peace were “very far apart.”

Orban’s trips to Kyiv and Moscow test the limits of the EU Council Presidency, says expert

Viktor Orban’s moves showed that after the European elections he is “playing a different game and taking advantage of the vacuum while the composition of these (EU) institutions is changing,” said Pavel Havlicek, research fellow at the Association for International Affairs.