Hungarian President Orban meets Chinese President Xi Jinping to end Russia-Ukraine war

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged world powers to help Russia and Ukraine resume direct dialogue during talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was in Beijing on a visit the European leader called a “peace mission.”

Xi’s meeting with Orban in the Chinese capital on Tuesday comes after the Hungarian leader made similar trips to Russia and Ukraine last week to discuss prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, now in its third year.

Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the European Union this month and Orban has since embarked on a peace mission, albeit one that lacks the approval of other European nations.

“China is a key power in creating conditions for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Orban wrote on the social media platform X. “That is why I came to meet President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest.”

Orban is considered one of the European leaders with the warmest relations with Xi and Putin. His visit to Moscow last week was condemned by Ukraine and EU officials, who insisted that Orban was not acting on behalf of the entire European bloc.

Their rebuke did not stop Orban from extending a similar visit to Beijing, which he called “Peace Mission 3.0” in a photo posted on X.

In his Moscow welcome, Xi called on Russia and Ukraine to cease fire and other major powers to create an environment conducive to negotiations. According to state broadcaster CCTV, only when all major powers project “positive energy rather than negative energy” can a ceasefire take place, Xi said.

“It is in the interest of all parties to seek a political solution through a rapid ceasefire,” he added.

Orban, for his part, described China as a stabilizing force in a context of global turbulence and praised its “constructive and important” peace initiatives. Among them is the six-point peace plan that China presented with Brazil in May.

China claims to be neutral in the conflict, although in practice it supports Moscow with frequent state visits, growing trade and joint military exercises.

China-Hungary Relations

Russia said it appreciated Orban’s efforts to clarify positions in resolving the conflict, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Hungarian leader could not act as a mediator, a task he said could only be undertaken by major world powers.

“Are there many countries like this in the world? Not many. I think the United States and China are among them. And the EU, not one country, but the whole EU,” Zelensky said during a visit to Poland.

Ukraine remains open to proposals from other countries on how to shape the path to peace, but they should align with the Ukrainian vision, in particular a 10-point peace plan, Zelensky added.

Ukraine hopes to hold a second international summit to discuss its peace proposals later this year. China, which has close ties with Moscow, did not attend the first meeting in June.

The United States, for its part, has expressed concern about the meeting between Orban and Xi Jinping. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the trip “certainly does not appear to be productive in terms of moving things forward in Ukraine,” adding: “That’s concerning.”

Under Orban, Hungary has forged important political and economic ties with China. Orban hosted Xi Jinping in Hungary just two months ago, as part of a three-nation European tour that also included stops in France and Serbia, which, unlike the other two, is not a member of the EU or NATO.

During the trip, China elevated its ties with Hungary to the status of “all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership,” one of its highest designations in foreign relations that, apart from Hungary, applies only to Belarus, Pakistan and Venezuela.

The European nation is home to a number of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery factories and announced in December that Chinese EV manufacturing giant BYD would open its first European EV production plant in the south of the country.

The Hungarian prime minister opposes any Western military aid to Ukraine and has blocked, delayed or watered down EU efforts to help kyiv and impose sanctions on Moscow for its invasion. Orban has long advocated for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, but has not spelled out what that might mean for the country’s territorial integrity or future security.

This stance has frustrated Hungary’s allies in the EU and NATO, who have denounced the Russian invasion as a violation of international law and a threat to Eastern European security.

“As Europe increasingly tries to speak with one voice in its relations with China and Russia, Orban’s unannounced and uncoordinated trips do not help signal or create a unified European Union when it comes to EU-China relations,” said Eva Seiwert, a foreign policy and security expert at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.

Orban’s proposals for resolving the war largely correspond to Putin’s interests, Seiwert added, although the Hungarian prime minister could prove useful in organizing a peace conference in the future.

Last week, alongside Orban in Moscow, Putin said Russia would not accept any ceasefire or temporary suspension of hostilities that would allow Ukraine to “recover its losses, regroup and rearm.”

Putin has reiterated his demand for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow partially occupies and claims to have annexed by 2022, as a condition for any eventual peace negotiations. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected the demand, as it demands kyiv withdraw from its own territory.

China, meanwhile, has expanded its influence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe in recent years, beyond its “limitless” partnership with Moscow. This weekend, China held “anti-terrorism” military exercises with Belarus – a key Russian ally – near the border with Poland. The drills came after Belarus last week joined a regional security organization led by China and Russia.

Orban will then travel to Washington, DC, where NATO leaders are holding a summit to discuss ways to ensure Ukraine’s continued support from the alliance.

“Next stop: Washington,” Orban posted on his social media account on Monday.