Hungary’s Orban meets China’s Xi Jinping as part of a mission to end the war between Russia and Ukraine | Politics news

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue. He held talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is currently in Beijing for a visit that the European leader described as a “peace mission.”

Xi and Orban’s meeting in the Chinese capital on Tuesday came after the Hungarian president made similar trips to Russia and Ukraine last week to discuss prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, now in its third year.

Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union this month and Orban has since launched a peacekeeping mission that lacks support from other European nations.

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

Orban is widely seen as having the best relations with Xi Jinping and Putin of all European leaders. His visit to Moscow last week was condemned by Ukrainian and EU officials, who stressed that Orban was not acting on behalf of the entire European bloc.

However, their rebuke did not stop Orban from paying a similar visit to Beijing, which he described as “Peace Mission 3.0” in an image posted on X.

During his meeting with Orban, Xi called on Russia and Ukraine to respect the ceasefire and other major powers to create an environment conducive to talks. A ceasefire can only be achieved if all major powers radiate “positive rather than negative energy,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

“It is in the interest of all parties to seek a political solution through an early ceasefire,” he added.

Orban, for his part, described China as a stabilizing force amid global turmoil and praised its “constructive and important” peace initiatives, including a six-point peace plan that China adopted with Brazil in May.

China claims to be neutral in the conflict, but in practice supports Moscow through frequent state visits, increasing trade and joint military exercises.

Relations between China and Hungary

Russia expressed its appreciation for Orban’s efforts to clarify positions in resolving the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the other hand, said that the Hungarian head of government could not act as a mediator. This task could only be undertaken by the major world powers.

“Are there many such countries in the world? Not many. I think the US and China are such countries. And the EU, not one country, but the entire EU,” Zelensky said during a visit to Poland.

Ukraine remains open to suggestions from other countries on how to shape the path to peace. However, these must be based on the Ukrainian vision, in particular a ten-point peace plan, Zelensky added.

Ukraine hopes to hold a second international summit later this year to discuss its peace proposals. China, which has close ties with Moscow, did not attend the first meeting in June.

The United States, meanwhile, expressed concern about Orban’s meeting with Xi. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the trip “certainly does not seem productive in terms of efforts to get things done in Ukraine,” adding: “That is concerning.”

Hungary has built significant political and economic ties with China under Orban. Orban welcomed Xi to Hungary just two months ago as part of a three-country European tour that also included stops in France and Serbia, which, unlike the other two countries, is not a member of the EU or NATO.

During the trip, China upgraded its relations with Hungary to a “comprehensive all-weather strategic partnership,” one of the highest designations in China’s foreign relations, which, besides Hungary, only applies to Belarus, Pakistan and Venezuela.

The European country is home to a number of Chinese factories producing electric vehicle (EV) batteries and announced in December that Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD would open its first European electric vehicle manufacturing factory in the south of the country.

The Hungarian prime minister is opposed to Western military aid to Ukraine on principle and has blocked, delayed or watered down EU efforts to help Kyiv and impose sanctions over Moscow’s invasion. Orban has long called for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, but without spelling out what this might mean for the country’s territorial integrity or future security.

This stance angered Hungary’s allies in the EU and NATO, who condemned the Russian invasion as a violation of international law and a threat to the security of Eastern Europe.

“Europe is increasingly trying to speak with one voice in its relations with China and Russia. Orban’s unannounced and uncoordinated trips do not help to send a signal or create a unified European Union in EU-China relations,” says Eva Seiwert, a foreign and security policy expert at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.

Orban’s proposals for resolving the war largely coincide with Putin’s interests, Seiwert added. However, the Hungarian prime minister could prove helpful in organizing a future peace conference.

Last week, Putin, speaking alongside Orban in Moscow, said Russia would not accept a ceasefire or a temporary pause in hostilities that would allow Ukraine to “make up for losses, regroup and rearm.”

Putin reiterated his demand that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow partially occupies and reportedly annexed in 2022 as a prerequisite for any peace talks. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected that demand, which calls for Kyiv to withdraw from its own territory.

China has expanded its influence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe in recent years beyond its “borderless” partnership with Moscow. Over the weekend, China held “anti-terror” military drills with Belarus – a key Russian ally – near the border with Poland. The drills came after Belarus joined a China-Russian-led regional security organization last week.

Orban will then travel to Washington DC, where NATO heads of state and government are holding a summit to discuss ways to assure Ukraine of the alliance’s continued support.

“Next stop: Washington,” Orban posted on his social media account on Monday.