Addressing the official opening at the Pest Vigadó, Economic Development Minister Márton Nagy congratulated CCB on its Hungarian branch, which he said would hopefully pave the way for more developments.

CCB helps Hungarian businesses enter the Chinese market and Chinese investments make their way to Hungary, he said. CCB chairman Tian Guoli highlighted the long “solid and deep” friendship between China and Hungary.

He said CCB expects to contribute to further boosting Chinese-Hungarian economic, financial and trade relations. Prior to the opening of the branch, György Matolcsy, the governor of Hungary’s central bank (NBH), had a business lunch with Tian, the bank said.

Matolcsy and Tian reviewed the global economic and geopolitical situation, as well as the achievements and future opportunities of financial and economic cooperation between Hungary and China, the NBH told MTI.

They identified financial digitalisation as an area for future cooperation between the NBH and CCB, saying it offered serious opportunities for Hungary in terms of technological knowledge transfer, the central bank said.

Matolcsy welcomed CCB’s opening of its Hungarian branch and that more and more Chinese commercial banks were coming to Hungary or setting up their regional centre in the country.

This fits well with Hungary’s goal of becoming the financial centre of the central and eastern European region, he said.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received a delegation of the China Construction Bank headed by Guoli for a working lunch in Budapest on Thursday.

The event was attended by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, Finance Minister Mihály Varga, Economic Development Minister Márton Nagy, and János Csák, the minister of culture and innovations, the prime minister’s press office said.

Participants in the event expressed their expectation that the Chinese bank’s new branch in Budapest, opened on Wednesday, would contribute to a further strengthening of economic cooperation between Hungary and China.

MTI Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák