SwedCham China Insights for the Week of July 8 - July 12 , 2024

SwedCham China Insights for 8 July – 12 July

Content Provided by Kreab

Top news of the week:

Hungarian PM Orbán attends state visit to China

8 July 2024

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday to discuss a potential Ukraine peace deal, paying the unexpected visit to Beijing days after his talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin angered some European Union leaders.

Innovation will be key policy focus, says experts and executives ahead of 3^rd plenum

9 July 2024

Promoting innovation through opening-up will be a key policy focus during an upcoming vital reform meeting, with greater international tech cooperation widely seen as crucial for China to nurture new growth drivers and share fresh opportunities with the rest of the world, experts and corporate executives said. The experts' and executives' comments came after President Xi Jinping called for efforts to foster a globally competitive, open environment for scientific and technological innovation, saying that it is important to insist on promoting innovation through opening-up.

Chinese premier holds symposium on economic situation

10 July 2024

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday held a symposium on the economic situation, listening to opinions and suggestions from experts and entrepreneurs on the country's economy and relevant work.

Int'l recognition of China's bond market improving significantly: financial sector

11 July 2024

A summit was held in Hong Kong on Tuesday to mark the 7th anniversary of Bond Connect which links the mainland and Hong Kong bond markets. Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said that in the past few years, the global financial market has become more and more volatile, but the willingness of international investors to invest in RMB assets has not decreased and even increased.

China opposes NATO’s Washington summit declaration

12 July 2024

China deplores and strongly opposes the Washington summit declaration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which hypes up tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and is full of bellicose remarks with a Cold War mentality, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Insight of the week:

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Beijing on Monday, where they exchanged detailed views on the Ukraine crisis. Orbán briefed Xi on his recent visits to Ukraine and Russia. Xi commended Orbán's efforts in promoting a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis and outlined China's relevant views and proposals.

Hungary has recently assumed the EU's rotating presidency, and Orbán has already met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv and visited the Kremlin, a move that provoked strong criticism from his allies. Upon his arrival in Beijing, Orbán, who has criticised Western military aid to Ukraine and maintains warm relations with both Xi and Putin, posted on his official X account, dubbing his visit "Peace Mission 3.0."

Xi emphasised that an early ceasefire and political settlement are in everyone's best interests, stressing the importance of preventing battlefield expansion, escalation of fighting, and inflammatory actions by any party. China, which maintains close ties with Russia, has been advocating a six-point peace plan issued jointly with Brazil in May, proposing an international peace conference "at a proper time" and calling for equal participation from both Ukraine and Russia.

Ukraine seeks broad international support for its proposals to end the war with Russia, having held a large international summit in Switzerland last month, notably excluding Moscow. In a separate Facebook post, Orbán described China as a "key player" in achieving peace in Ukraine, stating that the war's end depends on decisions from the United States, the European Union, and China, in addition to the warring parties.

Orbán's next destination is Washington, where Western leaders convened at a NATO summit to discuss Ukraine.