Budapest Airport will become a hub of “Belt and Road”

Hungary is one of the most active countries in the European Union towards China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. Now, Budapest Airport Company and Henan Airport Group have signed a cooperation agreement with the intention of creating an "Air Silk Road". Hungary intends to become a hub for Europe-China railways and air freight.

The Chinese Vaccine Arrives at Budapest Airport in February 2021

According to the German Investment and Trade Agency and the Budapest City Government, Budapest Airport Company and Henan Airport Group had completed the signing of the agreement at the end of April this year. The Sino-Hungarian business and logistics development company CECZ/Utlink is also a participant in the cooperation. This joint venture company started cargo flights between Zhengzhou and Budapest as early as October last year.

According to the plan, this cooperation will increase Budapest's share of Europe-China freight. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary stated that this is also part of the strategy of making Hungary a logistics hub in Central Europe. The Hungarian government also pointed out that the Budapest Airport Logistics City, which has a cargo turnover capacity of 180,000 tons per year, is also planning to build a European-Chinese logistics center to cope with the further increase in cargo throughput after the cooperation agreement takes effect. The Zhengzhou International Airport will also build a logistics center for this purpose.

In recent years, Hungary has been one of the European Union countries that have most actively promoted China’s “Belt and Road” project. In addition to the air cargo cooperation agreement signed this time, the country is also actively building a rail freight hub between Europe and China. For this reason, Hungary is upgrading and refurbishing the railway line connecting Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. This project is expected to be completed in 2025. It is worth noting that a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China covered 85% of the cost of the project, while the Hungarian government contributed 15%.

After the completion of the transformation, this railway will pass through Macedonia to become the fastest freight channel between the Greek port of Piraeus and China and Europe. Together with Budapest Airport, Hungary will become an important hub for the “Belt and Road” between Europe and China. The port of Piraeus in Greece is the only large-scale port in Europe controlled by a Chinese-funded enterprise and is regarded as the bridgehead of the “Belt and Road” in Europe.

Translated by Li Wei