Xi reaffirms vaccine vow with PM of Hungary

China will firmly honor the pledge of making COVID-19 vaccines a global good and continue to enhance vaccine cooperation with Hungary, President Xi Jinping said in a phone conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday.

Xi said the close cooperation of China and Hungary, especially on vaccines, reflected the high-level political mutual trust between the two countries and added resilience and vitality to the bilateral relationship.

China has sent three shipments of vaccines to Hungary. Both Orban and Hungarian President Janos Ader have gotten Chinese vaccines. Hungary is the only European Union country to use Chinese vaccines under an emergency protocol and has a leading vaccination rate among EU nations.

Xi also said that China speaks highly of Hungary for upholding the policy of friendship with China as well as its important contributions to promoting cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries.

Xi said China stands ready to maintain close strategic communication with the central European nation, consolidate political mutual trust and deepen practical cooperation guided by major projects like the Belgrade-Budapest railway. He called on the nations to jointly address risks and challenges and to push for constant development in their comprehensive strategic partnership to better benefit their peoples.

Orban expressed thanks for China's support for containing the pandemic in his country and welcomed more Chinese companies to invest in Hungary.

In another development, Xi said China is willing to build on past achievements and forge ahead into the future together with Uzbekistan as he talked by phone with his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, on Thursday. He said the two countries have supported each other on issues concerning core interests, kept close coordination in international and regional affairs and effectively safeguarded their common interests.

China will work with Uzbekistan to boost the alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Uzbekistan's New Strategy of Development, promote connectivity, deepen trade and investment, expand cooperation in areas like education, culture and tourism, and continue to advance vaccine cooperation, Xi said.

The president also said that China is willing to share its experience on poverty alleviation with Uzbekistan.

Mirziyoyev extended warm congratulations for the Communist Party of China's 100th anniversary and expressed his country's full support for China's holding the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.