1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
French electionEuro 2024Israel-Hamas
PoliticsChina

Hungary's Orban arrives in Beijing on 'peace mission 3.0'

July 8, 2024

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in China's capital Beijing on what he described as a "peace mission" after visits to Kyiv and Moscow.

https://p.dw.com/p/4hzYx
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a press conference following a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Moscow Kremlin
Orban has already met with Ukrainian and Russian leaders last weekImage: Valery Sharifulin/POOL/TASSdpa/picture alliance

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived for a visit to China on Monday morning local time.

"Peace mission 3.0 #Beijing," Orban wrote on the social network X after his arrival in the Chinese capital.

He also posted a photo of himself being greeted at the airport by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Orban will meet with President Xi Jinping on Monday "for in-depth communication on issues of mutual interest."

China and Russia's strategic partnership has grown closer since Moscow invaded Ukraine. Beijing presents itself as a neutral party in the war, but it has offered a crucial lifeline to Russia's isolated economy, with trade booming since the conflict began.

Can Orban speak for the EU? DW's Teri Schultz

Orban's self-proclaimed peace mission

The Hungarian leader's arrival in Beijing follows surprise visits to Russia and Ukraine last week.

Orban, the EU's friendliest leader towards Moscow, held talks with President Vladimir Putin on Friday about the war in Ukraine.

The trip was criticized by both Kyiv and the EU, which said it threatened to undermine the bloc's stance on the conflict.

Orban embarked on his self-proclaimed peace mission after Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union in early July.

dh/jsi (AFP, dpa, Reuters)