China’s Xi arrives in Hungary for talks on expanding Chinese investments

By BELA SZANDELSKY
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Hungary, the final stop on his five-day European tour. During his two-day visit from Wednesday to Friday, he’s expected to finalize a number of agreements with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that will deepen China’s economic footprint in the region. Talks will center on future Chinese investments in the Central European country, which has courted deep economic ties with Beijing even as mainstream European leaders have pursued more protectionist policies to limit its reach on the continent. Orbán, a nationalist populist whose illiberal policies have pushed him to the fringes of the European Union, made his country the first in the 27-member bloc to participate in Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative.