Washington warns EU over the Orbán-Xi meeting

"The leaders visited by Xi Jinping are the ones most likely to challenge the unity of the Euro-Atlantic community," Gabriel Escobar, the US envoy to the Western Balkans, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Xi's arrival in Belgrade on 7 May, the date a US air strike hit China’s embassy in the country in 1999, was seen as a pointed move that would ensure the trip had a geopolitical edge.

“The visit was timed to increase tensions between Serbia and the rest of the Western community, and it’s unhelpful,” said Escobar. He pointed out that the bombing was an accident, and Washington apologised and "I believe we’ve actually even paid reparations to the families" of the three journalists killed. "But... I do believe that the timing of the visit was unfortunate but deliberate.”

During the Chinese President's visit to Belgrade, Xi and Vučić signed a new cooperation agreement, and the two countries signed some 30 side agreements, including a media partnership and an extradition treaty. Xi's trip to Budapest is also expected to lead to new business contracts and further deepen political ties with the Hungarian government.

Washington is concerned that President Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian government is Russia's strongest ally in the Balkans, while Viktor Orbán met Vladimir Putin in China just last year and, in the US view, used his vetoes to delay EU sanctions against Russia and financial support for Ukraine.

China's significant investments of more than €12 billion in Serbia and €30 billion in Hungary are at odds with the EU's economic interests, Escobar said.

“We caution all of our partners and all of our interlocutors to be very aware of China’s agenda in Europe and China’s agenda with regard to the Euro-Atlantic community,” he added.

Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, told a press 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.

Cover photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán receives Chinese President Xi Jinping at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport on 8 May 2024. Source: MTI Photo/Prime Minister's Press Office/Vivien Cher Benko