tour of hungary

Sam Welsford

BORA - hansgrohe

Martin Voltr

Pierre Baguette

Balázs Rózsa

Epronex - Hungary

3. szakasz (Kazincbarcika - Gyöngyös-Kékestető)

Thibau nys (lidl-trek), diego ulissi (uae team emirates), emanuel buchmann (bora-hansgrohe), 2. szakasz (tokaj - kazincbarcika), mark cavendish (astana qazaqstan), dylan groenewegen (jayco alula), jon aberasturi (euskaltel - euskadi), 1. szakasz (karcag - hajdúszoboszló), sam welsford (bora-hansgrohe), samuel quaranta (mbh bank colpack ballan), jakub mareczko (corratec - vini fantini, pontverseny, martin voltr (pierre baguette), manuel penalver (polti-kometa), hegyi pontverseny, siebe deweirdt (flanders - baloise), christian bagatin (mbh bank colpack ballan), legjobb magyar versenyzők, márton dina (hungary), erik fetter (polti-kometa), márk valent (mbh bank colpack ballan).

• Tour de Hongrie

Thibau Nys a Kékestető bajnoka!

A Lidl-Trek versenyzője Diego Ulissi és Emanuel Buchmann előtt diadalmaskodott, és átvette a vezetést összetettben.

Tour de Hongrie szobrot avattak Kazincbarcikán

Május 10-én reggel látványos rajttal indult Kazincbarcikán a Magyar Körverseny programja: felavatták Szőke Gábor Miklós legújabb állandó köztéri szobrát, amely a Tour de Hongrie nevet kapta.

Cavendish győzött Kazincbarcikán!

Az Astana Qazaqstan szupersztárja, Mark Cavendish nyert a 2024-es Tour de Hongrie második szakaszán Tokaj és Kazincbarcika között. A sárga trikós Welsfordnak technikai gondja akadt, így a sárga trikót a szökevény Martin Voltr vehette át. 

Sam Welsford nyert a Tour de Hongrie nyitónapján

A kaotikus hajdúszoboszlói sprintbefutót követően a BORA-hangsrohe versenyzője ölthette magára a Tour de Hongrie első sárga trikóját.

3. szakasz (Kazincbarcika - Gyöngyös-Kékestető) 2024.05.10.

2. szakasz (Tokaj - Kazincbarcika) 2024.05.09.

1. szakasz (Karcag - Hajdúszoboszló) 2024.05.08.

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Mark Cavendish grabs second win of the year at Tour of Hungary

Cavendish beats Dylan Groenewegen in stage 2 sprint finish in Kazincbarcika to take his second victory of his final year on the road

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Mark Cavendish took the second victory of his final season on the road on Thursday afternoon at the Tour of Hungary.  

The Astana Qazaqstan rider beat Dylan Groenewegen to the line to win stage two in Kazincbarcika. Cavendish was able to rely on a perfect lead out from his teammates and launched his sprint in the final 200 metres to snatch the win ahead of Jayco-AIUla’s Groenewegen and Jon Aberasturi of Euskaltel-Euskadi. 

After missing out on the opening day to Bora-Hansgrohe’s Sam Welsford, Cavendish said his teammates had timed their lead out train to perfection. 

"I'm really happy with it," Cavendish said following the stage finish. "Yesterday, we didn't quite hit the lead-out properly. It was super good, and everyone committed 100% yesterday, but we were just a bit eager and a bit too soon. 

"We talked and talked about that to rectify it today. It was a completely different finish today, no big boulevard or corners to make it technical, and we executed it exactly how we wanted it. I'm so happy."

The eagle-eyed among you will notice that Cavendish crossed the line riding a pair of unbranded handlebars, which we’ve found out were the Vision Metron 5D model.

It was the second win of Cavendish’s season after he won a stage earlier this year at Tour Colombia . He now sits five seconds off the overall race lead in Hungary. 

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The Manxman is expected to retire at the end of the current campaign after one last attempt at breaking the record for the most stage wins at the Tour de France . Cavendish is currently tied on 34 wins with Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx. 

Cavendish was just metres away from taking the record breaking win in Bordeaux last year but was just edged out by eventual green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen . 

After taking victory in Colombia earlier this year, Cavendish’s schedule was impacted by a period of sickness which led to him missing Scheldeprijs in early April. 

Cavendish pulled out of the UAE Tour in February before going on to ride Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy. 

The Manxman missed the time cut on stage five so was forced to quit the Italian stage race. Cavendish then rode Milano-Torino but also abandoned the race after suffering with cold-like symptoms. 

The 38-year-old then took part in an amateur race on the Isle of Man as he built back some form. A competitor in the Nick Corkill Memorial Race told Cycling Weekly that Cavendish’s presence was surreal. 

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Tom joined Cycling Weekly in early 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine. 

He has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the recent Glasgow World Championships. He has also covered races elsewhere across the world and interviewed some of the sport's top riders. 

When not writing news scoops from the WorldTour, or covering stories from elsewhere in the domestic professional scene, he reports on goings on at bike shops up and down the UK, where he is based when not out on the road at races. He has also appeared on the Radio Cycling podcast. 

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Mark Cavendish officially greatest male sprinter after Tour of Hungary win

Mark Cavendish is now officially the greatest male sprinter of all time, after taking his 164th career win at the Tour of Hungary on Thursday. 

The second win of what is expected to be his final season took him to second place in cycling’s male all time wins ranking behind Eddy Merckx. 

Cavendish now sits one win ahead of Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini , who landed 163 victories during his professional career, making him the most successful male sprinter in cycling history. 

Despite the big achievement, the Manxman is still 89 wins behind Marianne Vos, who leads the women's leaderboard with 253 wins to her name. Vos is continuing next season, meaning that she still could come within touching distance of Eddy Merckx’s record, which stands at 277 wins. 

At the end of the 2023 season, Cavendish opted to continue on for one final year with Astana Qazaqstan with the aim of landing one more win at the Tour de France . Cavendish is currently tied with Merckx on 34 wins at the Tour, so one more victory this summer would see him become the record holder.

After winning a stage at the Tour Colombia earlier this year, Cavendish’s form was disrupted with a brief spell of illness during a block of racing in Italy . The Manxman returned to action recently and comfortably defeated several high calibre sprinters on the second stage in Hungary. 

Bora-Hansgrohe’s Sam Welsford, Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) and Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) are also all in action at the race. Groenewegen originally took second place yesterday but was later penalised for appearing to clash with Welsford in the run for the line. 

In a release from Astana after the stage, Cavendish talked through what he described as a perfect lead out from his teammates, including Michael Mørkøv. 

"The team was just phenomenal," Cavendish said. "My teammates did a great job and I managed to complete the job with a win. The finish was not easy and the final kilometres with a few corners turned out to be technically challenging. But it all worked out in the end, and I am very happy. 

"Many thanks to the whole team. Yevgeniy Gidich looked after us the whole day long, protected us from the wind, and kept us in position. Then Michele Gazzoli did a great job on the climb. Gleb Syritsa took us to a perfect position before the final kilometres of the stage. 

"Cees Bol did everything perfectly, a great lead-out at top speed in a slight uphill. In the final, Mikael Mørkøv kept the speed high and brought me close to the finish line, giving me a short explosive acceleration that ended with the win. I am really happy with this victory, I was able to approach this race in a good shape after a fruitful training block. 

"This victory will add motivation to all of us before the main goal of the season, the Tour de France."

The Tour starts in Florence, Italy on 29 June. 

Tour of Hungary (Stage #1)

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"With a language unrelated to any in Europe, and food and wines different from many, Hungary is a country that has always forged its own path"

Chris, Travel Director

Visit the Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest

Straight out of a storybook, the Fisherman’s Bastion is an ornate lookout tower and terrace of Buda Castle. Built from 1895 to 1902, there are seven decorative turrets, with spectacular views over Budapest. As one of our favorite ways to see the city, the Fisherman’s Bastion is a Budapest must see.

See the Great Synagogue, the largest in Europe

Also known as the Dohány Street Synagogue, the Great Synagogue is one of the most impressive Budapest attractions. With the capacity to seat 3,000 people, it’s the largest synagogue in Europe, set within a wider complex that includes the Jewish Museum, Heroe’s Temple, Memorial and graveyard.

Go shopping for Hungarian embroidery

Hungarian embroidery is a beautiful folk art tradition where dresses, slippers and smocks are intricately threaded with bright flowers and leaves. We’ll take you shopping at the Great Market Hall for your special souvenir, or the Váci útca, a pedestrian street with shops selling handcrafted designs.

Relax in the Szechenyi Baths

After a day of adventure, a visit to the Szechenyi Baths is one of the most fun things to do in Budapest. Built in the early 20th century as a medicinal spa, this bathing complex is now one of the largest in Europe. Soak in the pools, saunas and whirlpools, with water sourced from two hot thermal springs.

Venture up Gellert Hill for spectacular views of Budapest

Take a walk up the parklands of Gellert Hill for incredible views over the Danube River and Budapest. We’ll also reveal several other attractions such as the St. Gellért Monument, Budapest’s Statue of Liberty, a former citadel and Gellert Hill Cave, which served as a church and a field hospital during WWII.

Our top 5 things to do in Hungary

A day of Budapest sightseeing with Trafalgar takes you from the fairytale turrets of Fisherman’s Bastion, to the soothing Szechenyi Baths, to the top of the city on Gellert Hill and beyond.

Hungarian National Gallery

Located in Buda Castle, the Hungarian National Gallery is home to 100,000 permanent artworks spanning from the 11th to the 20th century. We’ll also take you to up the 54 steps to the dome of Buda Castle, where you can admire the spectacular views over the city.

House of Terror

A former headquarters of the Hungarian Nazi Party during WWII, the House of Terror now contains a chilling exhibition to commemorate the totalitarian regimes of 20th century Hungary, and a memorial to the victims who were tortured and killed in the building.

Museum of Fine Arts

Located in Heroes’ Square in Budapest, the Museum of Fine Arts houses an impressive collection of more than 100,000 pieces of international and Hungarian art. Opened in 1906, the works now span six exhibitions including Egyptian, Modern, Antique, Graphics and Old Sculpture collections.

Best museums in Hungary

You’ll visit the country’s best museums on a Hungary tour with Trafalgar. Visit a museum in Buda Castle and learn about Hungary’s past horrors at the House of Terror.

Goulash (gulyás)

No Budapest food tour is complete without a taste of traditional Hungarian goulash. We’ll show you the top places to try this delicious stew of beef and vegetables in a spicy paprika seasoned broth. Served with noodles or potatoes, this is the best way to stay warm.

Fisherman’s soup (Halászlé)

A bright red soup made with paprika and river fish, Fisherman’s soup is one of the most famous (and spiciest) foods to try when you visit Hungary. The soup was traditionally prepared in kettles on an open fire by fishermen, and it’s served straight from the kettle with a side of bread.

One of the most-loved dishes, lángos is a Hungarian national specialty and the star of street-food. It’s a deep-fried dough - crispy on the outside and soft inside - topped with delicious layers of cheese, sour cream and garlic butter. You can even find modern sweet versions with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Best food in Hungary

Often hailed as one of the best in the world, Hungarian cuisine is a fiery blend of rich meats, vegetables, doughy pastry and lashings of paprika. You'll savor the finest examples of local cuisines every day on our Hungary holidays.

What to pack for Hungary

Swimsuit and towel

These are essential items when you visit the Szechenyi Baths. There are 21 pools, saunas, steam rooms, and whirlpools, brimming with soothing thermal water.

With some of the most enchanting scenery and architecture in Europe, you’ll want a camera on hand to capture all the magic.

Budapest is a wonderful city for picking up original souvenirs like handmade porcelain and Hungarian embroidery. A small day bag will keep your hands free while you shop.

A big appetite

With a smorgasbord of traditional dishes, created over thousands of years of Magyar history, you’ll love diving into the delicious Hungarian cuisine.

An adapter plug

Voltage in Hungary is 230V and the sockets are of Type C and F, with standard European 2-pin plugs.

Pack for sustainable travel

Consider your environmental impact when you next take a trip and go single-use-plastic-free by packing a reusable water bottle, a steel straw, your own shopping bags and toiletry bottles.

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• As it happened: Tadej Pogačar dominates Perugia TT and extends GC lead to over two minutes

Tour de Hongrie 2024

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• Stage 5 | Siófok - Pécs 2024-05-12 173.2km

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Hungary rolls out red carpet for Xi in final leg of European tour

Warm welcome for Chinese president contrasts with rest of EU, with up to 18 cooperation agreements expected

Hungary has rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping in a show of warmth that contrasts with wariness in the rest of the EU about China’s stance on trade, global politics and human rights.

On the third and final stop of his first European tour in five years, Xi was given a ceremonial welcome by Hungary’s president, Tamás Sulyok, at Buda Castle, in Budapest, before talks with Viktor Orbán. The Hungarian prime minister, the EU’s longest-serving leader, has sought to deepen ties with Beijing and blocked EU motions criticising China’s human rights abuses.

After that meeting, the Chinese state media agency Xinhua reported that China and Hungary had decided to elevate their ties to “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era”. China has used a similar formula to describe its relations with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Venezuela.

Orbán said the two countries were going to expand their cooperation in “the full spectrum” of the nuclear industry. In a major departure from the European mainstream, the Hungarian prime minister said he supported China’s “peace plan” for Ukraine. Western leaders have criticised the 12-point plan , published in 2023, because it does not call on Russia to withdraw its forces or return territory.

Xi arrived in Hungary late on Wednesday, after stops in Serbia and France , and was met at the airport by Orbán. “Welcome to Hungary, President Xi,” Orbán posted on X with a picture of the two men shaking hands and smiling warmly.

Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán – no relation – told local media that Xi’s visit was “confirmation of the effectiveness of Hungary’s connectivity strategy”. In an article for Euronews, he wrote that “Europe must also recognise that the evolving geopolitical environment requires a strategy of prudent connectivity” and he hoped “cooler heads will soon have a chance to prevail”.

The EU in 2019 declared China “a systemic rival” and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said last year that Europe needed to “de-risk” its relations with Beijing , meaning, in part, cutting dependency on Chinese supply chains.

Hungary, which is marking 75 years of diplomatic relations with Beijing, has distanced itself from the EU strategy.

The central European country has received billions in Chinese investment and hosts Huawei’s largest base outside China. The Chinese carmaker BYD will soon open a factory for electric vehicles in Szeged, southern Hungary, its first production line for battery powered cars in Europe , creating a significant challenge for European companies in the heart of the EU.

In comments carried on China’s state news agency, Xinhua, Xi said the Chinese-Hungary relationship was “now at its best in history”.

“The two sides should adhere to win-win cooperation, expand cooperation in various fields within the framework of the belt and road cooperation, and synergise their respective development strategies,” Xi said.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has said 16-18 cooperation agreements would be signed during Xi’s visit, one of which could be a large-scale infrastructure scheme within China’s vast belt and road project.

Meanwhile, a Hungarian lawmaker with the opposition Momentum party told Associated Press that he and a colleague had been approached by a group of men on Wednesday as they attempted to place EU flags on a Budapest bridge. Márton Tompos said the men, all wearing red baseball caps, confronted him to make sure no flags or symbols referencing Tibet or Taiwan, claimed by China, would be hung on the route of Xi’s motorcade.

The visit to Hungary follows a similarly friendly welcome in Serbia, where President Aleksandar Vučić told Xi that “Taiwan is China”. Serbia has long backed China’s claim to the self-governing island and has Beijing’s support for its claim to Kosovo.

In France, von der Leyen warned Xi that Europe would not hesitate to protect its industries from China’s state-subsidised electric cars, steel, solar and wind technology. The European Commission has been promoting an alternative to the belt and road , the global gateway, to fund infrastructure projects worldwide.

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On European Tour, Xi Jinping Heads to Friendly Territory in the East

After leaving France later Tuesday, the Chinese leader landed in Serbia and will visit Hungary, two countries whose authoritarian leaders offer a haven for China as tensions grow over the war in Ukraine.

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By Andrew Higgins

Andrew Higgins, who has visited Chinese projects in Hungary and Serbia reported this article from Warsaw.

When China’s leader, Xi Jinping, last visited Europe’s formerly Communist east in 2016, the president of the Czech Republic hosted him for a flag-bedecked, three-day state visit and offered his country as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” for Chinese investment.

That vessel has since sunk, scuppered by China’s support for Russia in the war in Ukraine and bitter disappointment over projects that never materialized. Also capsized are many of the high hopes that took hold across Eastern and Central Europe for a bonanza of Chinese money.

So when Mr. Xi returned to the region this week, after a visit to France, he headed for Serbia, arriving there late Tuesday before moving on later in the week to Hungary — two countries whose long-serving authoritarian leaders still offer a haven for China in increasingly turbulent political and economic waters.

“The Czechs, the Poles and nearly everyone else are really pissed at China because of the war,” said Tamas Matura, a foreign relations scholar at Corvinus University of Budapest. “But in Hungary that is not a problem, at least not for the government” of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Mr. Matura said.

Nor is China’s Kremlin-friendly stand on the war in Ukraine a problem for President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia, who, like Mr. Orban, has maintained warm relations with Russia and China while securing billions of dollars in Chinese investment.

In an interview this week with Chinese state television, Mr. Vucic gave a foretaste of the flattery that will dominate Mr. Xi’s visit: “There are thousands of things that we can and should learn from our Chinese friends,” the Serbian president said.

“Taiwan is China — full stop,” he added.

Milos Zeman, the Czech president who welcomed Mr. Xi in 2016, was replaced last year by a former senior NATO general, Petr Pave l. Mr. Pavel has angered the Chinese government by talking with the president of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, and saying in an interview that China “is not a friendly country.” Chinese investment in the Czech Republic has slowed to a trickle.

Meantime, Chinese money has poured into Hungary and Serbia, cementing close ties underpinned by a shared wariness of the United States.

China’s showcase infrastructure project in the region, a high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest, has been slowed by regulatory and other issues. Of the about 200 miles of track planned, only about 60 miles are operating after five years of work — a sluggish pace for a project that Beijing sees as a key part of the Belt and Road infrastructure program, Mr. Xi’s pet foreign policy initiative.

But promised Chinese investment in other projects has raced ahead, totaling nearly $20 billion in Serbia , according to its minister of construction, transport and infrastructure, and totaling nearly as much in Hungary, including loans, the terms of which are secret.

Ivana Karaskova, a Czech researcher at the Association for International Affairs, an independent research group in Prague, said Hungary and Serbia look to China “not only for economic gains but also to demonstrate to their domestic electorate that they pursue an independent policy.” That demonstrates to the European Union and the United States that “they are not the only game in town,” Ms. Karaskova said.

China, she added, “understands this dynamic” and Mr. Xi will use it to try to reverse a steady souring of opinion on China in Europe, both among ordinary citizens and in institutions like the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union.

A s urvey last year of Eastern and Central European countries by Globsec, a research group in Slovakia, found that “negative perceptions of Beijing have soared,” particularly in the Baltic States and the Czech Republic. Even in Hungary, only 26 percent of those surveyed had a positive view of Mr. Xi, compared with 39 percent with a negative view. The rest said they were undecided.

But Hungary under Mr. Orban, no matter what the public thinks, has become a “safe political space” for Beijing, Mr. Matura said, and can be counted on to try to soften European Union policy on China and protect it from the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

The merging of economic and geopolitical interests is particularly pronounced in Serbia, which aspires to join the European Union but has balked at joining the bloc in imposing sanctions on Russia and frustrated E.U. efforts to broker a settlement over Kosovo. A former Serbian territory, Kosovo declared itself an independent state after a NATO bombing campaign, a status that Serbia, supported by Russia and China, has refused to accept.

Mr. Xi’s arrival in Serbia on Tuesday coincided with the 25th anniversary of a mistaken strike by NATO warplanes on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during the 1999 bombing campaign. Three Chinese journalists were killed.

That incident, which many in China believe was not an accident, created a “strong emotional bond between Serbs and Chinese,” said Aleksandar Mitic of the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade.

As part of a series of government-sanctioned events in Belgrade ahead of Mr. Xi’s visit, Serbian Communists on Monday unfurled banners reading “Welcome President” and “Kosovo is Serbia — Taiwan is China” outside the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, built on the site of the bombed embassy. They demanded that the street outside the center be renamed “Chinese Victims of NATO Aggression Street.”

Hungary, too, has bristled at what it sees as bullying by Washington and Brussels, despite its membership in NATO and the European Union, from which it has received billions of euros in aid.

Mr. Orban’s main interest in China, however, is money and he hopes to turn Hungary, with help from Chinese investors, into a manufacturing hub for E.V.s, batteries and other new technologies.

In just the past two years, China has committed to invest more than $10 billion in Hungary, most of it in ventures related to E.V.s — at a time when the European Union, worried about China’s growing dominance of the sector, is investigating whether Chinese E.V. manufacturers are unfairly subsidized and should be penalized with high tariffs.

BYD, China’s electric-vehicle juggernaut, announced in December that it would build an assembly plant in Hungary, its first production facility in Europe. Plans for a second, even bigger Chinese electric car factory in the country with investment from Great Wall Motor are expected to be announced during Mr. Xi’s visit on Wednesday and Thursday.

Those assembly lines will take years to build but, in the long run, will help protect Chinese E.V. manufacturers from any future efforts by the European Union to prevent China from dominating the market through tariffs.

Tariffs imposed on imported Chinese electric cars would not apply to those assembled in Hungary, which can ship goods duty-free across the E.U., though they could hit parts imported from China to Hungarian plants.

Unlike in most of Europe where governments regularly change — a democratic churn that can upset Chinese investment plans based on close ties to a particular leader — Mr. Orban and Mr. Vucic have both been in power for more than a decade and show no sign of going anywhere.

“The Chinese feel comfortable in Hungary,” Mr. Matura said. “The public might not be very fond of China but the government is.”

The start of construction last year on an enormous $7.8 billion Chinese battery factory in eastern Hungary stirred protests from local residents but applause from Mr. Orban’s government.

President Vucic’s government has also brushed aside public anger about a huge Chinese-owned mining venture in southern Serbia that environmental activists and residents say is poisoning the water supply.

By visiting Hungary and Serbia, Mr. Xi, according to analysts, wants to show that while China may be down as an influential player in East and Central Europe, it is not yet out. And, they say, it indicates he has not given up on a Chinese diplomatic initiative known as 16+1, a grouping of China and formerly Communist European countries built around Mr. Xi’s flagship Belt and Road program.

Furious about the war in Ukraine, three Baltic States have formally quit the grouping, which dates to 2012 and has been a cornerstone of Chinese diplomacy in Europe throughout Mr. Xi’s rule. Others, like the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, technically remain as members but have largely disengaged.

“The big debate now among experts around the region is whether 16+1 is dead or just a zombie,” Mr. Matura said.

Andrew Higgins is the East and Central Europe bureau chief for The Times based in Warsaw. He covers a region that stretches from the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Kosovo, Serbia and other parts of former Yugoslavia. More about Andrew Higgins

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Xi wraps up Europe tour hailing stronger ties with Hungary

Insights from the South China Morning Post, Chatham House, and Financial Times

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Chinese leader Xi Jinping wrapped up his Europe tour with a visit to Budapest, where he hailed his deepening relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

“We have gone through hardships together and defied power politics together amid volatile international situations,” Xi wrote in an open letter to Hungary on Thursday, calling the partnership between Budapest and Beijing “ as mellow and rich as Tokaji wine.”

The closeness between Xi and Orbán stands in stark contrast to both leaders’ relationships with the European Union. Xi’s earlier stop in France was comparatively tense , with French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pressing him to support Ukraine and change China’s approach to trade.

China’s partnership with Russia scrutinized during Xi visit

China and Russia have a “no-limits partnership,” and Beijing has refrained from condemning Moscow for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That has been a point of contention between China and the West, with ties becoming “confrontational” in recent years, the South China Morning Post noted. Chinese analysts blame the West for worsening ties between Europe and Beijing: Wang Yiwei, director of the Centre for European Union Studies at Renmin University of China, told the SCMP that “when they realised economic sanctions could not defeat Russia, they turned to blame China ... it is the West that has pushed Russia closer to China.”

Xi aimed to boost Europe ties and show divide over US

Xi likely hopes his visit to Europe mitigated some of the damage that has been done to China-Europe ties in recent years, preventing them from fraying further, like they have with the US, wrote Yu Jie, a senior research fellow on China at Chatham House. Xi strategically picked France, Hungary, and Serbia for his tour, she noted: “Xi’s visits will serve to demonstrate division within Europe over the war in Ukraine and US relations.” Meanwhile, “the trip also shows the extent to which China’s protracted geopolitical competition with the US has already reduced Beijing’s choice of European partners and consumers.”

Trip was largely ‘unproductive’

Xi eschewed the opportunity to strengthen ties with Europe, instead choosing “to sow divisions,” the Financial Times noted. The Chinese leader’s trip to Serbia aligned with the 25th anniversary of NATO’s bombing of Belgrade, and Xi used the occasion to criticize the alliance. In Hungary, Xi was able to highlight his strong ties with one of the most disruptive members of the EU. “Xi seemed to think he could head off the risk of tariff barriers by exploiting Europe’s faultlines,” the FT’s editorial board argued. “Yet his confidence underestimates the extent to which the majority of EU countries now see China both as a security threat” and an economic one, it added.

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Hungary, the final stop on his five-day European tour

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hungary late Wednesday, the final stop on his five-day European tour, where he’s expected to finalize a number of agreements with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that will deepen China’s economic footprint in the region.

Xi is set to spend two nights in the Hungarian capital Budapest where he will meet with Orbán and Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok. 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 . Hungary has straddled a middle ground between its membership in the EU and NATO and a willingness to establish diplomatic and trade relationships with autocratic governments outside those groupings.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, told a news conference on Monday that Xi and Hungarian officials would sign at least 16 bilateral agreements during the visit, Xi’s first to the country as president.

Szijjártó called the visit “historic,” and pointed out that China had provided more foreign investment to Hungary than any other country in 2023. He added that some of the agreements to be signed would involve expansion of Belt and Road in Hungary, and could include investments in infrastructure and energy.

Xi’s arrival in Budapest came after a two-day visit to Serbia’s capital Belgrade, where he signed an agreement on building a “shared future” with the Balkan country which, like Hungary, is considered friendly to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

China has claimed neutrality in the Ukraine conflict, but has refused to call the Russian assault an invasion and has been accused of bolstering Russia’s military capacity. Hungary has condemned the Russian invasion but threatened to block EU sanctions against Moscow and refused to provide Kyiv with military support.

Xi and Orbán are likely to discuss the war in Ukraine, Hungary’s neighbor to the east. Hungary’s government has vocally urged China to take a leading role in brokering peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and expressed its support for a China-proposed peace plan .

Before Xi’s arrival on Wednesday, a number of demonstrators gathered in central Budapest to protest his visit and call for autonomy for Tibet, which lies under Chinese control.

Tibor Hendrey, a representative for the Tibet Aid Society, said that doing business with China is important for Hungary’s economy, but highlighted the dangers of a relationship with a country with a spotty democratic and human rights records.

“We need a good relationship with a great empire, that’s not a problem. The problem is that China has a completely different culture, a completely different approach to human rights,” Hendrey said. “I feel that they want to export this kind of thinking here to Hungary, and that the Hungarian government is willing to accept that.”

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Hungary and Serbia’s autocratic leaders to roll out red carpet for China’s Xi during Europe tour

Chinese and Serbian flags fly on lampposts, days before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Xi will visit France, Serbia and Hungary this week as Beijing appears to seek a larger role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has upended global political and economic security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A Chinese flag is placed near flowers on a monument at the site of a former Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 29, 2024. During NATO bombing campaign, in 1999, jets bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three people and at least 20 were injured. Chinese leader Xi Jinping will spend the bulk of his five-day tour in Europe this week in two small countries at the continent’s eastern half, Hungary and Serbia. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

FILE - A worker rests between billboards that read: ''Construction of the Serbian-Hungarian railway’’ in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. In 2014, Hungary and Serbia concluded an agreement with Beijing to modernize the railway between their capitals of Budapest and Belgrade, part of a Belt and Road plan to link up with the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece, to the south, an entry point for Chinese goods to Central and Eastern Europe. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

FILE - A motorcyclist rides past a billboard showing Serbian and Chinese flags that read: “Serbs and Chinese brothers forever” placed on a street prior to a curfew set up to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 13, 2020. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia and Hungary this week as Beijing appears to seek a larger role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has upended global political and economic security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

A statue of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius stands in front of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 29, 2024. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia and Hungary this week as Beijing appears to seek a larger role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has upended global political and economic security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Construction is underway for a battery factory for electric vehicles built by China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday, May 5, 2024. Hungary’s government has deepened its economic ties with China, with the proliferation of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery factories across the country gaining the most attention. Near Debrecen, construction is underway of a nearly 550-acre, 7.3 billion euro ($7.9 billion) EV battery plant, Hungary’s largest-ever foreign direct investment. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Construction is underway for a battery factory for electric vehicles built by China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) in Debrecen, Hungary, Sunday, May 5, 2024. Hungary’s government has deepened its economic ties with China, with the proliferation of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery factories across the country gaining the most attention. Near Debrecen, construction is underway of a nearly 550-acre, 7.3 billion euro ($7.9 billion) EV battery plant, Hungary’s largest-ever foreign direct investment. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

A man with a dog walks by a construction site in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia and Hungary this week as Beijing appears to seek a larger role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has upended global political and economic security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping will spend most of his five-day tour in Europe this week in two small countries in the continent’s eastern half, a region that Beijing has used as a foothold for its expanding economic ambitions in Europe.

Following a stop in Paris on Monday to kick off his first European trip in five years, Xi will travel to Hungary and Serbia , two nations with autocratic leaders that are seen as China-friendly and close to Russian President Vladimir Putin .

As mainstream European leaders have pursued more protectionist policies to limit Beijing and Moscow’s reach on the continent, the governments of nationalist conservative leaders Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia have courted economic ties with China , inviting major investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, energy and technology.

As the first European Union country to participate in Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative , Hungary has straddled a middle ground with its membership in the EU and NATO and an unusual openness to diplomatic and trade relationships with eastern autocracies.

Tamás Matura, a China expert and associate professor at Corvinus University in Budapest, said Hungary’s hosting of major Chinese investments and production sites — and its agnosticism on doing business with countries with spotty democratic and human rights records — has opened a crucial door to China within the EU.

“The Hungarian government is the last true friend of China in the whole EU,” Matura said. “It is very important now to the Chinese to settle down in a country that is within the boundaries of the EU ... and is friendly to the Chinese political system.”

One of the major benefits to China of establishing bases within the EU is avoiding costly tariffs. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, is considering raising duties on the import of Chinese electric vehicles from its current 10% to protect the European auto manufacturing market — a mainstay for Germany, the 27-member bloc’s largest economy.

Yet in December, Hungary announced that one of the world’s largest EV manufacturers, China’s BYD, will open its first European EV production factory in the south of the country — an inroad that could upend the competitiveness of the continent’s auto industry.

That shift is visible in Budapest, where one car dealership has begun scaling down its supply of European vehicles and introducing models produced by BYD.

Márk Schiller, the strategy and marketing director for the family-owned Schiller Auto Group, said he believes that European carmakers are “already behind” China in transitioning to EV production. His company recently stopped selling cars made by German carmaker Opel and switched to BYD.

“This was a huge shift,” Schiller said.

Hungarian state television on Monday appeared to confirm earlier reports that Xi and Orbán would travel to the southern city of Pécs to announce another EV manufacturing investment there involving China’s Great Wall Motor.

In a news conference later, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó castigated journalists for reporting on the potential deal, saying that those who mention specific companies before agreements are finalized are “clearly acting against Hungary’s national interests.”

The report on Xi’s potential trip to Pécs was later removed from the state television’s website. Orbán’s office didn’t respond to multiple requests for information on Xi’s schedule.

In Serbia, to Hungary’s south, China runs mines and factories across the Balkan country, while billions more in infrastructure loans have funded roads, bridges and new facilities.

Hungary and Serbia have an agreement with Beijing to modernize the railway between the countries’ capitals of Budapest and Belgrade, part of a Belt and Road plan to connect with the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece as an entry point for Chinese goods to Central and Eastern Europe.

The bulk of the project, which after numerous delays is expected to be completed in 2026, is financed through loans from Chinese banks — the kind of capital that Hungary and Serbia have been eager to utilize.

According to the AidData research lab at William & Mary, a university in Virginia, Chinese lenders have issued loans worth more than $22 billion to nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe between 2000 and 2021.

Of that sum, $9.4 billion has gone to Hungary and $5.7 billion to Serbia, dwarfing the totals of other regional countries.

Vučić has said he is “honored” that Xi — whom he often describes as a “friend” — is visiting on Tuesday. He said before the visit that Serbia would seek further Chinese investment, particularly when it comes to advanced technologies.

But economic analyst Mijat Lakićević said he didn’t expect any major new investment deals, because “everything that Serbia does with China has already been agreed.”

Hungary, too, has created a favorable investment environment for China, providing generous tax breaks, subsidies and infrastructural assistance to Chinese companies, as well as helping them navigate Hungarian bureaucracy.

“They get the red carpets rolled out and they get everything tailor-made by the government. And that is a huge advantage,” said Matura, the China analyst.

Near Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, construction is underway of a nearly 550-acre (222-hectare), 7.3 billion euro ($7.9 billion) EV battery plant, Hungary’s largest-ever foreign direct investment.

Orbán’s government hopes the factory, run by Chinese battery giant CATL, will make the country a global hub of lithium-ion battery manufacturing in an era where governments are increasingly seeking to limit greenhouse gas emissions by switching to electric cars.

Such investments are coming at a time when Hungary’s sluggish economy has been further hindered by record-setting inflation and the freezing of billions in EU funding that has been withheld over Orbán’s track record on democracy standards and the rule of law.

With EU money at a standstill, Matura said, China has been willing to fill in the gaps in Hungary’s budget.

“EU funds have almost came to full stop flowing into the Hungarian economy, so now there is a desperate need in Hungary to turn towards other alternatives, other sources of financial capital,” he said.

Orbán has been open about why he has prioritized Chinese investment: his belief that Western economies are declining, and that China is on the rise.

During a recent speech at the CPAC Hungary conservative conference, Orbán outlined a vision of a “global economy that will be organized according to the principle of mutual benefit, free of ideology.”

Gec reported from Belgrade, Serbia.