Diplomacy & Trade 2019 October

INSIDE SAUDI ARABIAN SUPPLEMENT

OCTOBER 2019 HUF 1710

EUR 6

POWER STRUGGLES WILL POLITICIANS IN BRUSSELS DEPART FROM THE USUAL TACTICS IN THE SELECTION OF THE NEXT EU COMMISSION? SEE ANALYSIS on page 18

China

country

FOCUS

China is Hungary’s most important trade partner outside Europe and relations between the two countries are developing with good momentum, Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Duan Jielong tells Diplomacy&Trade. Hungary’s support for China’s Belt and Road initiative and the country's position as the top destination for Chinese investments in the region bode well for the future of cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, investment, science, technology or agriculture, the Ambassador highlights. see articles on pages 10-15

Committed Partner

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, one of the first Western European companies to venture behind the Iron Curtain, set up operations in Hungary in 1984. The opening of Roche’s pharmacovigilance center in Budapest is testament to 35 years of successful operations during which the company reinvested the majority of its turnover in the Hungarian subsidiary.

see more on page 17

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Hungary’s nomination for the 2020 Oscars, Those Who Remained is a soul-lifting cinematic work on love’s healing power in the shadows of war and darkness.

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­­ contents 05 ON THE RECORD 06-07 COMPANY BRIEFS 08 ANALYSIS

18 EUROPEAN UNION

10-15 CHINESE FOCUS

21 CULTURE ‘Those who remained’ – the Hungarian Oscar nominee

The renewed Kashmir conflict Interview with the Chinese Ambassador to Hungary, Duan Jielong; HEPA; Hungarian Chamber of Commerce Chinese Committee; ChinaCham; Master Wang

Peter Freed PUBLISHER

AND DON’T FORGET

monthly in print - daily on the web

www.dteurope.com

16-17 BUSINESS

India business delegation visit; Increasing smartphone use; Roche

PUBLISHER: Peter Freed EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Edith Balázs EDITOR: Sándor Laczkó COPY EDITOR: Joyce Freed PHOTO EDITOR: Dávid Harangozó SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR: Tamás Varga DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Tibor Ocsenás ADMINISTRATION: Judit Ludányi ASSISTANT: Ágnes Rapaport

Club, László Francsics, Péter Hajnal/www.glix.hu, Colliers International, Zsolt Burger/MFAT, Lázár Todoroff, Melanie Wenger/ European Union 2019 - Source: EP, www.facebook.com/vanikzoltanfoto, Tama, Furmint Photo, National Széchenyi Library, Dan Tore Jørgensen, Live Nation, National Gallop, Brent Stirton/Getty Images, René Magritte, Augustin Rebetez, Maria Jarzyna, koncertpromo.hu, MTI Photos: János Vajda, Péter Lakatos, Zoltán Máthé, Boglárka Bodnár

Copyright 2004-2018 DUAX Kft., all rights reserved | ISSN 1589-8075 This magazine is produced by DUAX Kft. The opinions published in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DUAX Kft.

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20 WITTYLEAKS

by the Norwegian Ambassador

22-23 SOCIETY 24-25 WHAT’S ON

Concerts, festivals, events and exhibitions in and out of Budapest 26 GASTRONOMY Sekler cake festival 27 WINE Sparkling Tokaj

Diplomacy&Trade will feature a special focus on Spanish-Hungarian relations in its November issue. Spain is Hungary’s 11th largest trade partner with the volume of trade between the two countries amounting to EUR 4.5 billion annually. There are about 250 Spanish firms operating in Hungary, employing over 4,500 people. The interview with Spanish Ambassador Anunciada Fernández de Córdova, will shed light on the specifics of bilateral political and economic relations as well as cultural ties. The section will also include an interview with the new head of the ‘Instituto Cervantes’ in Budapest. Other topics will focus on business, tourism, gastronomy and wine.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS: Depositphotos.com (Cover), Csaba Schumy/dfp.hu, Budapest Film, Depositphotos.com, Károly Árvai/kormany.hu, Sparta Photography

NEWSSTAND PRICE: HUF 1,710 or EUR 6 - Subscriptions are ­a vailable for an

The selection of EU commissioners

SPANISH FOCUS - COMING SOON

CONTRIBUTORS: Edith Balázs, Sándor Laczkó, Tamás Magyarics, Diána Sayuri Matsuzaki, Réka A. Francisck, Olav Berstad

COPIES ARE AVAILABLE AT SELECTED RELAY AND INMEDIO OUTLETS IN MAJOR HUNGARIAN CITIES.

Sekler Cake Festival: the season’s most delectable gastro happening page 26

We welcome inquires for advertising in this issue.

PLEASE CALL TAMÁS VARGA FOR FURTHER INFORMATION +36 209 350 250 - tvarga@budapestweek.com O C T O B E R

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DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM, CSABA SCHUMY/DFP.HU, BUDAPEST FILM

This fall will bring about a major reshuffle in the Brussel’s administration as the new European Commission is scheduled to take office on November 1. Incoming President Ursula von der Leyen’s efforts to break with the tradition of political arm wrestling in the election of new Commissioners may run into the familiar hurdle of political tactics.

Our analyst compiled the line-up of incoming Commissioners who will lead the EU for the next five years provided their nomination is approved by the appropriate EU bodies.

Past decisions may often come back to haunt us later. This is no different in world politics and the seemingly never-ending crisis in Kashmir is a tragic proof of this. This month’s foreign policy analysis reveals that as the standoff between India and Pakistan over the Kashmiri region drags on without a solution in sight, the specter of a nuclear exchange between the two sides hangs over us all.

The People’s Republic of China, which celebrates the 70th anniversary of its founding this year, is featured in this month’s country focus. The Asian country established diplomatic relations with Hungary 70 years ago and Ambassador Duan Jielong praised today’s bilateral relations as being the best in history. Political ties have strengthened continuously in recent years and investments from Chinese giants like Wanhua, Huawei, ZTE and BYD secure employment to more than 15,000 Hungarians. Hungary’s enthusiastic support of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and a favorable economic backdrop are set to boost the inflow of Chinese capital further, according to the Ambassador.

Do not miss this month’s WittyLeaks, which is a singularly humorous and original rendition of three seemingly separate stories authored by Norwegian Ambassador Olav Berstad.

Those Who Remained, Hungary’s entry for the 2020 Academy Awards, is a heartwarming tale of love in the shadows of the Holocaust. See our feature on director Barnabás Tóth’s remarkable movie about the healing power of love and caring amidst the deepest tragedies.

Hungary is the perfect place to enjoy the myriad colors of autumn.

Take a much-earned break from your busy daily routine to visit the countryside and be amazed by nature!

The Kashmir crisis: a trouble spot with no solution in sight

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on the record several international awards, including the Oscar and the Golden Globe (both as Best Supporting Actress in ‘Julia’ – 1977), the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, as well as two Emmys, a Tony and a BAFTA TV Award.

Franco Nero is best known for his breakthrough performance as the title character in Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti western Django (1966), a role he reprised in Nello Rossati's Django Strikes Again (1987).

This year's Lifetime Awards of the festival, held in the northeastern Hungarian city of Miskolc, went to Academy Award winning Danish director Belle August and Australian actor George Lazenby.

UPCOMING NATIONAL DAYS October

PUTIN TO VISIT HUNGARY AT THE END OF OCTOBER

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KÁROLY ÁRVAI/KORMANY.HU, SPARTA PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB, JÁNOS VAJDA/MTI, LÁSZLÓ FRANCSICS, DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM, PÉTER LAKATOS/MTI

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be visiting Budapest on October 30 to hold talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to a report by Hungarian state newswire MTI. The Russian leader, who has met with PM Orbán every year since 2013 with the exception of 2018, visited Hungary twice in 2017. The foreign ministers of Russia and Hungary, who met in New York at the UN’s General Assembly, drafted the details of the meeting. The ministers agreed that Hungary's gas supply for next year is secured after Russia fulfilled its obligations stemming from the long-term gas supply contract entered into by the two countries. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also noted that the Russian side is open to negotiations about future gas supplies. Putin’s visit will precede the trip of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Budapest by little more than a week. Erdoğan will meet PM Orbán on November 7 to discuss the economic and security partnership of the two countries, daily Magyar Nemzet said.

November

HUNGARIAN NAMED ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF 2019

Hungarian photographer László Francsics has been named the winner of the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2019 contest organized by the Royal Museums Greenwich. His bewitching image entitled 'Into the Shadow', depicts the 35 phases of the total lunar eclipse that occurred on January 21, 2019.

Praising the photo, award-winning photographer and founder of the OneRedEye Visual Communications Ed Robinson said that "for a single multiple-exposure image to capture this event with such positional precision, creative innovation and beauty is nothing short of masterful.

The colors of our atmosphere projected onto the Moon’s disc during the eclipse are not only artistically pleasing, but also offer an understanding of such events and can reveal aspects of our own, thin, yet essential atmosphere. In a year that celebrates 50 years since the first lunar landings, it is fitting that this year’s overall winning image captures such a dynamic and captivating view of the Moon. A worthy winner indeed."

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Cyprus

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China

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Nigeria

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Germany

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Iraq

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Korea

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Taiwan

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Cuba

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Spain

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Azerbaijan

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Hungary

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Zambia

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Austria

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Czech Republic

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Turkey

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Poland

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Angola

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Latvia

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Morocco

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Oman

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HUNGARIANS TRIUMPH AT SPARTATHLON RACE

Hungarian ultra-runners scored a double victory at the 37th Spartathlon, one of the most challenging long-distance races in Greece, winning both the men's and women's competition.

The winner, Tamás Bódis completed the distance in 23 hours, 28 minutes and 37 seconds with fellow countryman Zoltán Csécsei finishing second.

Coming in 8th in the race, Zsuzsanna Maráz successfully defended the women's title she won last year, by clocking 27 hours, 15 minutes and 12 seconds.

The famous ultramarathon race – which takes athletes from the Acropolis in Athens to the statue of the ancient Spartan King Leonidas in the center of Sparta in southern Greece – has been held since 1983 with Hungarians consistently performing well. The first Hungarian victory was recorded in 1991 when János Bogár won the race. Szilvia Lubics won the women's race three times.

AMBASSADOR OF EUROPEAN CINEMA AWARD

British actress Vanessa Redgrave and her husband, Italian actor Franco Nero received the Ambassador of European Cinema award at the 16th CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival in September. The festival established the award in 2016; the first recipient was Oscarwinning French actress Juliette Binoche. Called by Tennessee Williams “the greatest living actress of our time,” Vanessa Redgrave has received w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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WEAK SUMMER ON THE HUNGARIAN PROPERTY MARKET

The Hungarian property market turnover in August declined below usual levels, with the sector producing the weakest summer season of the past four years. As a result of robust market performance at the beginning of the year, data for the first eight months shows no major decrease when compared to previous years, according to the latest Duna House Barometer report.

On the Buda side of the city, 26% of property market transactions carried a price tag exceeding HUF 900,000 per square meter, which is a 19% increase compared to last August. In Pest, the transaction volume in the same price range was 14% of the total, showing a 10% increase from last year. In addition, 24% of all transactions in Buda were realized at a price of more than HUF 70 million.

In Budapest, the price per square meter in most cases exceeds HUF 500,000, with the most frequented locations reaching HUF one million. In the countryside, the average price per square meter is HUF 300-350,000, depending on the type of the property.

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RUNWAY RUN: CHARITY RACE AT BUDAPEST AIRPORT

Budapest Airport hosted its annual Runway Run charity race for the seventh time in early September. Running aficionados completed the race on a closed runway at Liszt Ferenc International Airport. Despite the summer heat, over 1,100 runners took part, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó and British Ambassador Iain Lindsay, as well as top Hungarian athletes including Olympic champion kayakers Katalin Kovács and Botond Storcz. Budapest Airport will donate the proceeds to charities such as the SUHANJ foundation, which supports the sporting activities of disabled people, and the British Anthony Nolan Foundation, which supports the recovery of children with leukemia.

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­company briefs ALDI EXPANDS SERVICE CENTER IN HUNGARY

BRIDGESTONE EXPANDS ITS UNIT IN TATABÁNYA

At the announcement of the expansion, Foreign Affairs and Trade minister Péter Szijjártó pointed out that Germany is Hungary’s largest trade partner and foreign investor, with a record EUR 54 billion in trade flow realized between the two countries last year. He noted that this fruitful cooperation is expected to continue into the future in view of the fact that, according to a survey performed by the German-Hungarian Chamber of industry and Commerce, “German companies have never before been so satisfied with their operations in Hungary, with 84% of them stating that they would realize investment projects in Hungary again.”

The eponymous Albrecht family, which is still the owner of ALDI, opened their first store in 1912 and implemented a successful food discount store philosophy by 1962. The name ALDI (ALbrecht DIscount) was also created the same year.

ELECTROLUX: LAY-OFFS AND INVESTMENT IN HUNGARY Following a strategic overview started earlier this year, Swedish home appliances manufacturer Electrolux has decided to initiate a plan to improve efficiency throughout the Group.

Early this year, Electrolux announced an intention to spin off its Professional Products business area as a separate company. The company also communicated a plan to sharpen the consumer organization and accelerate profitable growth by creating four regionally focused business areas and reorganizing key global functions. As the strategic overview related to these activities has progressed, Electrolux says it has now identified opportunities to improve efficiency in both the consumer and professional organizations. The

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As a second step of Bridgestone's EUR 29.5 million investment project, the Japanese company has raised the warehouse capacity of its factory in Tatabánya by 50%, which now exceeds 600,000 tires. In addition to building a new warehouse, the company has also increased its manufacturing capacity and modernized its artificial intelligence-based tire production machines. As a result of the investments, new training and dressing rooms were also built to better serve the increased employee headcount.

Bridgestone, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world's leading tire manufacturer. Bridgestone Tatabánya Production Ltd. started operations in 2006 and has become one of the largest tire factories in Hungary. Since its foundation, the company's headcount has more than doubled: production was launched with 361 employees and today 1,200 people are working in the manufacturing of tires for premium category vehicles. The company's Hungarian supplier network consists of 750, mostly small and medium-size enterprises, which in 2018 generated HUF 4.6 billion in sales of products and services.

In the past decade, the Japanese company invested about EUR 430 million in the construction and technological development of its factories in Tatabánya, which by now is one of the most modern plants internationally. The plant produces car, SUV and small truck tires with high speed ratings for premium category vehicles in over 230 different sizes. Bridgestone’s Artificial Intelligence-based EXAMATION digital production technology is only used in Hungary outside Japan.

Bridgestone Corporation employs over 18,300 people in 38 countries in the region, operating 15 tire and rubber products plants, a major research & development center, and a testing center.

resulting redundancies are anticipated to impact approximately 875 non-production positions globally.

In the review of the overall competitiveness of the manufacturing operations in Hungary, Electrolux has decided to outsource production of vacuum cleaners from its Jászberény facility, and a significant part of the freestanding refrigerators currently produced there. This

is expeected to impact approximately 800 production employees.

The efficiency measures and redundancies related to the outsourcing will lead to restructuring charges in the third quarter of 2019 of approximately SEK 1.6 billion, a press release by the company says. The net impact of non-recurring items in the third quarter is anticipated to be negative with approximately SEK 400 million.

As previously communicated, Electrolux is currently carrying out a manufacturing investment program, totaling SEK 8 billion during 4-5 years as from 2018, to strengthen competitiveness and drive profitable growth.

As part of this, the company has decided to invest approx. EUR 100 million in automation, digitalization and innovation capabilities in its production of high-end refrigerators in Nyíregyháza, Hungary.

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The first production line manufacturing potentially reduced-risk, innovative products has started operation at the British American Tobacco factory in Pécs, southern Hungary. Through an investment of EUR 23.8 million, tobacco-free nicotine pouches are soon to be produced on five additional production lines. As a result of the development creating 60 new workplaces, the production of the unit in Pécs is set to increase more than threefold.

British American Tobacco (BAT), which has been listed on the London stock exchange for over ten years, is one of the oldest, largest and most well-known stakeholders of the international tobacco industry. The factory in Pécs with more than 100 years of history was purchased by British American Tobacco in 1992. Over the last nearly three decades, BAT has invested more than HUF 60 billion in Hungary and employs over 800 people. However, with the completion of the planned developments, this figure may approach 1,000. In addition to domestic sales, British American Tobacco in Pécs supplies more than 30 markets, and is BAT's sole plant producing filtered cigarillos.

The production of nicotine pouches will be launched on six production lines in Pécs. The first line is installed, and over the upcoming months, another five production lines are to be commissioned, making the Pécs unit BAT's largest nicotine pouch factory. As a result, the production volume may increase more than threefold in 2020.

BAT’s Director of Production for the European and North African Region, Berndt Meyer said the primary reason Pécs was chosen as the site of the new investment is the broad professional expertise with which the Hungarian colleagues enable the production of three, and now four, totally different types of products.

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BAT STARTS NEW PRODUCTION LINE IN PÉCS

Retail chain ALDI will expand the competence and headcount of its Information Technology service center in Pécs, southern Hungary, according to the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA). The number of employees at the center is set to nearly double. The center supports the IT system operations of 3,800 European ALDI stores and 55 logistic centers.

ALDI opened its first store in Hungary in 2008 and currently has 140 stores employing 3,300 people countrywide. The ALDI SÜD company group established an IT department at its Logistics Center in Biatorbágy (just SW of Budapest) in 2013, providing first-level IT support, including IT equipment and applications, to 3,300 European stores in the first year. Given that results exceeded expectations and in light of the increasing workload, a new IT unit, organized under an independent company called ALDI International IT Services Ltd., was set up in Pécs in 2018.

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­company briefs GMD GROUP COMPLETES PRODUCTION PLANT IN DOROG INDUSTRIAL PARK

French automotive supplier GMD Group has completed its EUR 65 million investment for the construction of an aluminum casting plant in Dorog, NW of Budapest. The production plant, the company's most modern and efficient site in Europe, is now running at full capacity. The investment was executed by GMD Cast Hungary, which purchased the plant previously used by Japanese companies Sanyo and Panasonic, in the Dorog Industrial Park. Reconstruction was completed earlier this year and the production lines and molding sections were gradually integrated in the production process. The automobile component manufacturing plant will be the largest unit operated by GMD Group's foundry business in Europe. The highly robotized plant will employ 240 people, mostly highly skilled professionals and technicians.

GMD Group manufactures metal and plastic products mainly for the car industry. It specializes in pressing, injection molding, thermoforming, aluminum melting and casting as well as the manufacturing of gaskets. In addition to manufacturing, the company is also involved in the design and development of car and machinery components, especially for the steering gear, the gearbox and other engine parts. The French company group, present in 14 countries worldwide with 5,500 employees globally, is expected to book annual revenue of more than EUR one billion in 2019. The Hungarian plant’s portfolio was expanded in 2019 after the company purchased a plant in the southern Hungarian town of Bonyhád, where a staff of 160 are engaged in the production of leather interior components for the VW Group, Lamborghini and Bentley.

METRO Properties, the real estate unit of METRO AG, sold the properties owned by 11 Cash & Carry stores in Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic in a sale-and-leaseback transaction. The portfolio was acquired by Vienna-based FLE GmbH, a subsidiary of the French LFPI Group, which carried out the investment on behalf of an AIF regulated fund.

The transaction, with a total value of more than EUR 250 million, was finalized in August. METRO and MAKRO Cash & Carry will continue to operate all wholesale locations on the basis of longterm lease contracts.

The total portfolio of the 11 properties comprises five MAKRO Cash & Carry stores in Poland (Warsaw, Wroclaw, Krakow and Lublin), three METRO Cash & Carry properties in the Hungarian capital and three MAKRO Cash & Carry markets in the Czech capital, according to a press release by Colliers International.

METRO Properties will retain ownership rights of several adjacent plots in Poland and Czech Republic to develop mixeduse projects.

Bence Vécsey, Director and Head of Investment in Hungary at Colliers International noted that the “transaction required facilitating a long-term partnership that goes beyond the initial transaction. We are proud to have played a part in bringing these two partners together.” FLE GmbH acts as an investment advisor to several real estate funds that target office and retail assets as well as low budget hotels in Germany, Austria, and the CEE, with deal sizes ranging from five million to fifty million Euros per asset.

ARCONIC RECEIVES CHAIN BRIDGE BUDAPEST AWARD American company Arconic that specializes in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing has announced that its Hungarian subsidiary, Arconic-Köfém Ltd., received the 2019 Chain Bridge Budapest Award. Launched in 2017, the prize is awarded each year by the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) to the company that makes the greatest contribution to the development of the Hungarian business community and society as a whole.The award ceremony took

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COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL, ZOLTÁN MÁTHÉ/MTI, BOGLÁRKA BODNÁR/MTI, ZSOLT BURGER/MFAT

METRO LEASES BACK CASH&CARRY PROPERTIES

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place in September at Hungary’s Consulate General in New York, which hosted a special event to publicize investment opportunities in Hungary. HIPA awarded Arconic-Köfém Ltd. in recognition of its outstanding journey in Hungary that turned the small manufacturing plant into a European center.

With a history of more than a quarter of a century in Hungary, Arconic now has manufacturing plants and offices in Székesfehérvár and Nemesvámos, serving customers in the aerospace, automotive and

DENSO OPENS NEW LOGISTICS CENTER AND PRODUCTION LINE

Japanese automotive component manufacturer Denso, which has been present in Hungary since 1997, has inaugurated its new logistics center in Székesfehérvár, SW of Budapest.

The 17,000-square-meter center is used for storing basic materials necessary for manufacturing, semi-finished and finished products. The Japanese company invested HUF 18.5 billion (EUR 55 million) to complete the center and the Hungarian government contributed to the project with HUF 1.5 billion in the form of non-refundable funds.

Denso also carried out a EUR 65 million technology-intensive project to install semi- and fully automated production lines at its plant in Székesfehérvár, increasing production volume and work-process flexibility. The purchase of the high-standard semi and fully automated production lines will facilitate Denso's successful adaptation to the rapid changes in the industry.

The major part of the development was based on the concepts of Hungarian engineers and Hungarian suppliers were used in the course of implementation, according to an announcement sent by the company.

Denso's Hungarian plant, which has more than 4,000 employees, manufactures fuel supply system components for the automotive industry and produces system control units for camshafts and exhaust systems. Key global partners of the Hungarian subsidiary include General Motors, Volvo and the Volkswagen Group, while Audi, Opel and Suzuki are the most important domestic customers.

Denso, with a history of over 70 years, is one of the world's top automotive suppliers, specializing in power transmission, electronics and safety systems. The company has 211 representations in 35 countries, giving work to more than 172,000 people.

commercial transportation industries. Arconic's Hungarian subsidiary has developed into a key contributor to five of the company's main global businesses, rendering the parent company one of the ten largest US investors in the Hungarian manufacturing sector. Arconic was among the first companies to establish a service center in Hungary in 1996. The Global Shared Services Center in Székesfehérvár provides financial and administrative services globally while its Central Support Services operates locally. Arconic employs approximately 2,200 people in Hungary and has built strong cooperation with six universities, taking part in the dual education system.

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analysis

ANOTHER REVENGE OF HISTORY: THE KASHMIR CRISIS A HISTORICAL RIDDLE WITH NO SOLUTION IN SIGHT

BY TAMÁS MAGYARICS

The past policies and decisions of great powers have produced a number of trouble spots all over the world. Their hubris of believing that the philosopher’s stone was – is – in their pocket has already led to numerous tragic conflicts in the world, and has left a number of open wounds whose treatment has proven next to impossible in some cases. Two of the ticking time-bombs of this legacy are the greater Middle East and the Kashmir question.

Sparring over Kashmir Since Great Britain left the Indian subcontinent rather hastily in 1947, the two inheritors of British rule over there, India and Pakistan, have gone at war against each other over Jammu and Kashmir more than once; the first time right after India became independent and a Muslim Pakistan was established. At the time of the partition, the ruler of the territory, the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh decided to stay independent, but later changed his mind and joined India. A war broke out between India and Pakistan over the area, which was 60 percent Muslim, and finally the two sides signed an agreement to establish a ceasefire line, that is, cutting Jammu and Kashmir into two in 1949.

One of the major problems with the deal was that neither Delhi nor Islamabad was satisfied with it; both have retained their claim over the whole territory. Another difficulty, and a source of constant clashes between the two neighbors is that the agreement left a large Muslim population in the India-administered part; in fact, it became the only state within India with a Muslim majority.

The Indian government recognized the unique situation and Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gave wide-ranging powers to ’India’s’ Jammu and Kashmir: except for matters of defense, finance, foreign affairs, and communications the state enjoys independence. Things are further complicated by geopolitics: the easterm section of the India-administered part, Aksai Chin, is claimed by China as well. The appearance of China on the sidelines of a conflict raging between India and Pakistan may be seen as a sign of a power rivalry in the region between Delhi and Beijing. In reality, this is not the only territorial dispute between the two most populous states in the world: they also went to war against each other in 1962 and their joint border is still one of the most volatile in the world.

Mumbai (targeting predominantly the Taj Mahal Hotel) in 2008, and against Indian soldiers in February 2019 – most likely with some logistical or other support provided by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which also plays quite a controversial role in fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda along the Pakistani-Afghan border. The geopolitical rivalry between Delhi and Islamabad has spilled over to Afghanistan too, where Pakistanis suspect that India is trying to create a government friendly toward Delhi. The Indian response to the February 2019 attack was a series of bombing raids against Pakistan. However, the Indian government upped the ante in Jammu and Kashmir when it revoked Article 370, and introduced direct rule from Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had long opposed Article 370, already promised to take this step in its election manifesto. The measure is regarded as a provocation by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who claims Delhi’s decision is illegal, and suspended diplomatic ties and all trade with India. Moreover, the

Pakistani Premier would like to take the question to the UN Security Council as well.

well-known, as is the support Pakistan has been receiving from China diplomatically, economically, and technologically (for instance, in the form of nuclear technology transfer). A more benign interpretation of PM Imran Khan’s bellicosity is that, in a classic fasion, he is trying to divert attention from the rather poor state of Pakistan’s economy under his leadership: inflation is at a 5-year high, national debt exceeds the country’s GDP, the economy is in deep recession (almost in depression), and the IMF has extended its 22nd bailout to the country. Nevertheless, his Indian counterpart is in a precarious situation, too: Modi’s erstwhile election promises (especially in the area of economy) have not really been fulfilled, and whipping up national feelings against the archrival has always paid off whatever government was in charge in Delhi. The solution to the Jammu and Kashmir problem is nowhere in sight. India and Pakistan still do not seem to be able to solve the historical riddle they inherited some 70 years ago.

The worst case scenario If this is all PM Khan intends to do, Delhi should not worry that much: the UNSC is not famous for taking strong steps against great powers.

The situation, however, might turn nasty if the Pakistani military, which is generally considered to be the real power broker in the country, put pressure on the government to take military steps – using the regular military not just proxies on the payroll of ISI, and to escalate the ongoing, low-intensity military conflict into a major one. This, however, is still not the worst-case scenario. Between themselves, the two countries possess some 250 nuclear weapons and neither side has excluded using theater or tactical nuclear weapons against the other side. A nuclear exchange in this highly unstable region of the world is bound to bring about a major crisis in the international order. One should also not lose sight of the fact that Pakistan and India are not acting in a power vacuum. The Indian-Chinese rivalry is

Tamás Magyarics is a foreign policy analyst

Involved parties

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illustration by DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

It is not only the regular forces that have been taking part in the repeated clashes between the Indians and the Pakistanis. Various militias, groups and outright terrorist organizations were engaged in atrocities on both sides of the ceasefire line in Jammu and Kashmir; over the last decades, tens of thousands, including a large number of civilians, died in the attacks.

The latest two most spectacular such attacks were carried out by radical islamist groups in O C T O B E R

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CHINESE-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS GEARED TOWARD SUCCESS

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BY EDITH BALÁZS

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary. Hungary was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. “In the past 70 years, China-Hungary relations have stood the test of time,” Ambassador Duan Jielong says, adding that Hungary was among the first countries to lend “a helping hand” to China. “Hungary has greatly assisted in the exploration of the Songliao oil fields, the construction of the Broadcasting Station in Central China and even the development of Chinese football. Meanwhile, Hungary has fully supported the restoration of China’s legal status in the United Nations,” the Ambassador says. Hungary and China regard each other

as important strategic partners and relations between the two countries are developing with good momentum and broad prospects, Duan Jielong notes.

is China's third largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe,” the Ambassador says.

According to Chinese statistics, the volume of bilateral trade reached USD 10.9 billion in 2018, exhibiting a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Hungary is currently China's largest investment destination in Central and Eastern Europe with China's cumulative investment in Hungary at nearly USD 4.5 billion, accounting for almost half of overall Chinese investments in the region. Ambassador Duan highlights that the Hungarian government actively welcomes Chinese companies in Hungary and a large number of powerful Chinese-funded enterprises, including the Bank of China, Wanhua Petrochemical (Yantai), Huawei, ZTE and BYD, have set up operations in Hungary, creating more than 15,000 jobs. Following Wanhua Industrial Group’s acquisition of BorsodChem in 2011, the Chinese company invested about USD 2.4 billion in its Hungarian operations through 2018. It is the largest

Shifting and speeding up Under Viktor Orbán’s premiership, Hungary’s foreign and external trade policy experienced a marked shift toward countries in the East, among which China has a central role. The government’s stated objective has been to promote economic relations with former Soviet states and countries in Asia, fueled by Prime Minister Orbán’s often-stated position that global economic power is shifting eastward. “At present, China-Hungary relations have entered a new historical stage of ‘shifting and speeding up’ with the level of economic and trade cooperation between China and Hungary continuously improving. China has been Hungary's largest trading partner outside Europe and Hungary O C T O B E R

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With Hungary the prime investment destination for China in Central and Eastern Europe, relations between the two countries are at their best and enjoy great momentum and broad prospects, Duan Jielong, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Hungary tells Diplomacy&Trade in an in-depth interview. China’s Road and Belt initiative, embraced

by Hungary, provides additional venues for boosting economic cooperation.

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

INTERVIEW WITH DUAN JIELONG, CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY

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chinese focus investment by a Chinese enterprise in Central and Eastern Europe to date, providing more than 5,000 jobs and donating more than EUR 5 million in the areas of science, education, culture and charity in Hungary.

Belt and Road

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DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

Dubbed 'the most ambitious infrastructure effort in history', China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI) aims to build connectivity and cooperation across six main economic corridors encompassing 152 countries worldwide. According to estimates by the Asian Development Bank, Asia alone needs USD 26 trillion in infrastructure investment through 2030 and China can help provide some of this.

Mutual benefit is a feature of the initiative, which will help to develop markets for China’s products in the long term and alleviate industrial excess capacity in the short term. Hungary was the first EU member state to join the BRI because – as Prime Minister Orbán said in 2017 in Beijing – “we had enough of the conventional form of globalization, which divided the world into two halves: teachers and students.” The Hungarian government’s policy of eastward opening “is highly compatible” with China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” the Ambassador notes. “The two sides should strengthen strategic docking, explore the potential of cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, science and technology, agriculture and interconnection, and actively promote large cooperation projects such as the railway connecting Belgrade and Budapest.

China is willing to work with the Hungarian side to continuously promote the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe and the development of China-EU relations,” according to the Ambassador. In June 2015, the two countries signed an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding on the BRI, which was the first BRI intergovernmental document. Prime Minister Orbán participated in the BRI Forums organized in China in 2017 and 2019. The cooperation between China and Hungary under the BRI “has created a stronger driving force for practical cooperation,” the Ambassador says, adding that China is looking forward to implementing the Budapest-Belgrade railway project “soon.”

In the next stage, inter-connectivity will be the priority in bilateral cooperation, focusing on the fields of finance, economy, trade, investment, education and culture, the Ambassador says.

FACTS COMPARED AREA country comparison to the world POPULATION country comparison to the world POPULATION GROWTH RATE country comparison to the world BIRTH RATE country comparison to the world LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH country comparison to the world NET MIGRATION RATE country comparison to the world GDP - PER CAPITA (PPP) country comparison to the world UNEMPLOYMENT RATE country comparison to the world TELEPHONES - MOBILE/CELLULAR country comparison to the world AIRPORTS country comparison to the world

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Frequent visits In recent years, under the guidance of the BRI and the China-Central and Eastern European countries cooperation, the two sides have witnessed frequent exchanges of high-level visits, which increasingly strengthened the political mutual trust, according to the Ambassador. From 2015 to 2019, Prime Minister Orbán attended the annual meetings of the Heads of Government of the China and Central and Eastern European countries cooperation. In May 2017, Prime Minister Orbán attended the first Belt and Road Forum, and the leaders of the two countries have elevated ChinaHungary relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership and brought bilateral relations to a new level. In November of the same year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Hungary for the meeting of the Heads of Government of the China and Central and Eastern European Countries initiative.

The following year, Prime Minister Orbán attended the first Chinese International Import Expo and in April 2019, he attended the second 'Belt and HUNGARY

CHINA

93,028 sq km 111 9,825,704 (July 2018 est.)

92 -0.26% (2018 est.)

214 8.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

206 76.3 years (2018 est.)

88 1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

54 USD 29,600 (2017 est.)

68 4.2% (2017 est.)

54 12,030,940 (2017 est.)

75 41 (2013) 103

9,596,960 sq km 5 1,384,688,986 (July 2018 est.)

1 0.37% (2018 est.)

165 12.1 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

161 75.8 years 100 -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

121 USD 16,700 (2017 est.)

105 3.9% (2017 est.)

48 1,474,097,000 1 507 (2013) 14

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Road' Forum. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, respectively, met Prime Minister Orbán and exchanged new ideas on the further development of China-Hungary relations. In May, Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, visited Hungary and in July, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Hungary and the two sides co-chaired the second China-Hungary Belt and Road working group meeting in Budapest. “I would like to point out that Chairman Li Zhanshu’s visit to Hungary is set to vigorously promote the development of bilateral relations and friendly exchanges between the two parliaments and inject new impetus into cooperation in various fields,” the Ambassador notes, adding that these high-level visits have helped deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries.

Tourism in focus The EU remains an attractive destination for Chinese tourists and Hungary’s 25.1% growth in arrivals in 2018 puts the country in third place in terms of relative growth, according to data published by air travel analyst ForwardKeys in February 2019. There were 260,000 Chinese tourists visiting Hungary last year and the Embassy expects their number to exceed 300,000 in 2019. “There is an old saying in China: ‘A country’s interaction depends on whether its people are friendly and open.’ Chinese people enjoy visiting Hungary to experience local culture and history. Currently, there are two direct flights between the two countries: China International Airlines opened its Beijing-Budapest service in 2015 while China Eastern Airlines started operating its Shanghai-Budapest flight this year. I believe more direct flights will be opened in the near future, contributing to more convenient, faster and deeper people to people exchanges,” the Ambassador notes.

Several cultural happenings, including performances

by Chinese literary and artistic groups, events related to Chinese cuisine and various exhibitions on Chinese culture, have been organized to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The Ambassador highlights that the ceremony of the Happy Spring Festival of Chinese culture held in Millennium Park in Budapest earlier this year has been widely and warmly welcomed by the Hungarian people. Through the cooperation with the Hungarian Post Office, special stamps have been issued, such as the Year of the Pig stamp and the stamp commemorating the 70th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

As proof of their popularity, these stamps are currently sold out.

As regards the Chinese community living in Hungary, whose number some estimate to reach 20,000, the Ambassador says that “the vast number of overseas Chinese have interacted with the local community and integrated themselves harmoniously into Hungarian society.” The activities of the local Chinese community, be it the promotion of trade and investment, tourism, Chinese language, traditional medicine and Kung Fu, art shows and cultural exhibitions, have made tangible contributions to deepening bilateral relations, the Ambassador concludes.

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chinese focus this – similarly to other organizations and the Hungarian government – on many occasions and at many events, which always gives us the opportunity to talk about business,” Hendrich says.

For a business to succeed in the Chinese market, finding local partners is of key importance, Hendrich observes, adding that foreign businesses need to be present in China because building personal relations is crucial. “Chinese language skills are also a huge advantage as they help bypass many communication hurdles. We have Chinese speaking colleagues in HEPA, who are at the disposal of companies turning to us for assistance,” the executive says. HEPA is preparing for the Shanghai Expo held in November, where Hungary will have two stands: one for general country promotion and one exhibiting agricultural and food products.

Companies interested in the event have the chance to join HEPA at the Expo where the Agency’s experts will organize B2B meetings for them. “We are also dealing with a new initiative of the government: the support of capital exports, or outbound investments.

The importance of capital exports is best exemplified by China, as Chinese outbound investments exceed the amount of inbound investments. Of course, Hungary is not at that level, but hopefully investing in China will become an option for Hungarian companies soon,” Hendrich says.

EXTENDING A HELPING HAND

Wide range of services “Promoting the export capacity of Hungarian companies means that we provide assistance to businesses that wish to penetrate a given market in a more efficient manner by reducing time and costs. We have a very strong advisory team that makes the initial interview with candidate companies to assess the product, the level of readiness for market entry and export readiness. This requires no investment on the side of the company as we are a nonprofit organization and provide these services free of charge. We can share know-how and expertise accumulated in the course of several decades. Based on these interviews, we can draft a plan on how to develop the company to be export ready,” Hendrich notes.

HEPA, which also operates partner offices in Tokyo and Istanbul and plans to open one in Moscow in the near future, helps companies take part in business delegations, attend exhibitions, trade fairs, B2B meetings, and other events that raise overall awareness of Hungary as a country and of individual companies.

AN AGENCY PROVIDING SUPPORT TO BUSINESSES SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD

Establishing a presence in a foreign market can often bring about unexpected diff iculties stemming from cultural and linguistic differences, divergent business cultures or lack of specif ic knowledge about market conditions. Hungary’s Export Promotion Agency offers decades of knowhow and expertise to businesses seeking to venture outside Hungary, even to far-flung countries like China, says Balázs Hendrich, the Agency’s Chief Executive Off icer.

“China is a strategic market for our exporters, therefore we have a regional partner office in Shanghai, which is one of our most significant and biggest partner offices,” Hendrich says. Hungary’s foreign

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motivates the desire for adventure of ICT companies, making them frequent guests at the Agency’s target market events.

Partnerships are key Hendrich notes that the country's huge size and the challenges of Hungarian firms in finding an approach to successfully compete make China a difficult market to enter. “Luckily, we are quite successful in China, thanks to a variety of reasons, most importantly because of the outstanding political and cultural relations with China. This year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations and we celebrate

HEPA CASE STUDIES Within the framework of the Preferred Exporters Partner Program, HEPA has built a long-term partnership with Naturtex Wool & Feather Processing Ltd., which has attended several major Chinese trade fairs in recent years with the support of the Agency. The most significant of these fairs is the China International Import Expo, which will be organized for the second time this year. Graboplast Zrt., which has received market expansion support from HEPA's Shanghai partner office since the beginning of the year, is another example of successful cooperation between a domestic company and the institution. A successful market entry and expansion in China requires companies to have a long-term strategy, commitment and consistent cooperation, which these partners have already demonstrated.

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trade volume with China exceeded USD 8.74 billion in 2018, representing a 9.9% increase from the previous year. China is Hungary’s 10th largest foreign trade partner and the most important outside Europe, based on 2018 data. Hungarian exports to China amounted to USD 2.37 billion last year, consisting mostly of high value-added machinery and equipment manufactured by multinational companies in Hungary.

Currently, only a smaller portion of export goods is produced by the SME sector and Hendrich states that it is one of HEPA's main objectives to increase the proportional contribution of SMEs to overall exports in the long run. “When it comes to Chinese exports, food and agricultural products are on top of our priority list. We are pushing hard in a positive sense to have more and more quality products present in China. Hungary is a GMOfree country and our agriculture and food sector is the source of a wide range of topquality products. We are also very keen on supporting players from the ICT and software industries,” according to the executive. Most SMEs turning to HEPA for assistance come from the agricultural sector for support in speeding up import licensing procedures and faster market access. China's extreme need for innovation and modern technology often

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Despite Hungary’s relatively modest size, the country is an exporting powerhouse, due to the open nature of its economy. Hungarian exports have set a record every year since 2014. The overall export volume amounted to USD 110 billion last year, placing Hungary among the top 35 exporters worldwide, Hendrich notes. The Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA), operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, supports international trade relations through market research, business consultancy and export-oriented training. In addition to market-specific information, HEPA provides clients with intercultural knowledge necessary for successful business operations, and helps in the identification, development and support of internationally competitive Hungarian companies, products and services.

Hendrich also highlighted that businesses seeking to establish a presence in a foreign market can request financial assistance from the state-owned Eximbank.

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chinese focus population. China is a country of 1.4 billion people with insufficient land for agricultural production. Hungarian agricultural and food industry could basically sell to China their entire production volume.”

Another consideration is looking for lesserknown markets within China, Nádasi says.

Although the eastern coastal area of the country, with Beijing or Tianjin, and the large cities in the south like Shanghai, Guangzhou or Hong Kong are well covered, inner China offers more opportunities. Infrastructure is quite developed; the highway network is excellent, domestic flights are readily available and China has a super-fast train network. “There is immense technical development taking place in the country and I believe we should jump on that band wagon. Even though bilateral relations are excellent, this in itself is not enough to do business, you need to have well-founded feasibility studies to get a mutually beneficial deal. If you go to China, you have to conform to their customs to a certain extent. Knowledge of the language is also important. More and more people learn Chinese in Hungary. When establishing a business in China, it is wise to have a Hungarian manager with sufficient Chinese language skills for the interests of the company to be properly observed.”

Not strictly business

UNDERSTANDING CHINESE BUSINESS CULTURE COOPERATION AND AMPLE QUANTITY ARE KEY TO BEING SUCCESSFUL IN THE CHINESE MARKET

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From introductions to negotiating tactics, the business culture in China, the world’s largest market, is different from European business culture.

Being aware of cultural details is vital for commercial success, says Tamás Nádasi, President of the Chinese Committee established by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Nádasi stresses that cooperation among Hungarian businesses and thorough market research are the prerequisites to a successful market entry in China.

The aims of the Committee, set up in 2005, include promoting HungarianChinese relations and advisory services to China-bound Hungarian enterprises on how to do business in the most populous country of the world. “This body suited the Chamber’s efforts to help Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises establish a presence in markets that are difficult to reach because of large distances and where the business culture and philosophy greatly differ from those in Europe. China is such a market. There is a six-hour time zone difference and their business mentality could also make it difficult for Hungarians to orientate themselves,” Nádasi says. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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Sharing the details Seminars organized on a regular basis and consultations with entrepreneurs seeking assistance are among the core activities of the Committee. “Enterprises receive tailor-made advice from our members and members of the board who have personal experience in this field.

We have a comprehensive set of information about the country ranging from negotiating tactics to customs processes or the protection of intellectual property. If special information is needed, we can suggest who to turn to for assistance.” Nádasi stresses that it is important for Hungarian entrepreneurs to be aware of differences in business culture. “For instance, you hand over your business card with two hands,

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with a slight bow, looking into the eyes of the business partner – we share many little details like this.” He notes that negotiating tactics in China are built on patience since several rounds of talks may be necessary. “One should not expect a deal on their first trip to China.

First you need to establish trust and then pay attention to signing a deal with much attention to details,” he adds.

It’s all about quantity The President stresses that the reason Hungarian wineries are not very successful in China is because they can’t produce the quantity necessary for the Chinese market.

He notes that Hungarian wine producers would enjoy greater commercial success if they joined forces regionally and entered the Chinese market together – similarly to the French, the Australians or the Chileans.

“We always emphasize that cooperation and a sufficient quantity of goods are key to entering – or staying on – the Chinese market. Hungarian firms should not see each other as rivals because China is an immense market: even ‘smaller’ Chinese cities have as many people (ten million) as Hungary’s entire

The Committee maintains relations with a range of organizations in China with the aim of enhancing bilateral relations, but its services also include assistance in cases of emergency, like the help it offered to a Hungarian delegation during their recent trip in Hong Kong. Representatives of Chinese firms like Wanhua-BorsodChem, Huawei or the Bank of China sit on the board of the Chinese Committee and provide guidance to Hungarian entrepreneurs about Chinese business culture. “We try to be everywhere because we think business opportunities may come from various fields like culture or sports and we have to cherish those ties, as well,” Nádasi says. In that vein, the Committee helped establish sister city relations between the Hungarian spa town of Hévíz and Guilin, a city in southern China.

The proportions differ widely – there are 5,000 inhabitants in Hévíz vs. two million in Guilin – but the difference is also great between Budapest (two million inhabitants) and its sister city Shanghai (25 million).

Recognizing Hungarian talent The Chinese Committee is also involved in receiving business delegations from China, organizing business meetings and trips to events like exhibitions and conferences in China, Hong Kong, Macau. Only recently, the Committee’s delegation attended a ‘Belt and Road’ conference in Hong Kong and visited Macau to meet the leaders of the local chamber of commerce.

“In fact, we happened to be the very first Hungarian chamber of commerce delegation to that city state,” Nádasi says. Committee members also offer their assistance if a Hungarian company wishes to find a Chinese partner on the Hungarian market. “The Chinese are aware of Hungarian intellectual skills, they know about the large number of Hungarian Nobel Prize recipients, inventors, etc. They know that we are a very innovative and creative people with great ideas and suggestions,” the President concludes.

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chinese focus a short term investment, it will require time, effort and money. At the same time, for those who are able to establish a foothold on the Chinese market, it will mean an unmissable opportunity. The difficulty that we try to explain to Hungarian firms is that their production potential is way too small compared to the size of the Chinese market and thus, they will have to join forces and cooperate with other Hungarian or regional companies in order to increase the production volume. A good opportunity to forge such partnerships was the China Brand Expo, which was held this year in Budapest, for Central and Eastern European companies. This September, there was a fair in Shandong Province where the Budapest-based CECZ (Central European Trade and Logistics Cooperation Zone) and ChinaCham had a booth for firms from seven CEE countries to present food industry products. This November, the China International Import Expo, where Hungary enjoyed great success in 2018, will take place for the second time. This year, there will be, in addition to the official Hungary pavilion and a Hungarian agricultural pavilion, a separate logistics pavilion where we expect companies that play a significant role to make Hungary a logistics and distribution center in Central Europe.”

Value-added services

Establishing a foothold in the EU

Unmissable opportunity

There is a large number of Chinese firms in Hungary employing over 15,000 people and the number is increasing. “Looking at the number of Chinese companies and their employees, I can say is that there was a first chapter in 1991-92 when 40-50,000 Chinese people came to Hungary and since then, this country has had the largest Chinese community in East Central Europe. Interestingly enough, most of those

ChinaCham Hungary also undertakes the task of helping Hungarian enterprises appear on the Chinese market, although, Ernő Pető admits that “this is the harder part of the work we do at the chamber.” They try to make Hungarian entrepreneurs understand how big China is, what this huge market means, what the possibilities are to enter the Chinese market.

“Appearing on the Chinese market is not

The Hungarian-Chinese Chamber of Economy (ChinaCham) aims to enhance Hungary’s role as a logistics and distribution center of Chinese goods for the region.

In a previous interview with Diplomacy&Trade, ChinaCham President Ernő Pető stressed that “Europe needs China very much and China also needs Europe.” When asked whether he still stands by this statement, the answer is a definite ‘yes’. “It is increasingly so in the economic policy situation that rules the world nowadays. It is especially true in the times of the American-Chinese trade war, when the American administration is in a trade war with all major trade partners (EU, Canada, Mexico, etc.). In light of all this, it is an increasingly prevalent development that China is looking for new markets and that the Chinese market has become more open to Europeans.”

A professional voice One of the declared aims of ChinaCham Hungary is the enhancement of business relations between Hungary and the People’s Republic of China. “ChinaCham is an independent legal entity.

As a bilateral chamber, it has special tools and special possibilities to take part in enhancing

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‘Culture brings us together’ For over five years, ChinaCham has been the organizer and supporter of the ‘Bridge of Music’ international choir festival that features Hungarian and Chinese participants as well as, more recently, choirs from neighboring countries. “It is wonderful how, after a tough competition, 300-500 people can sing together.

It is important because culture brings us together, culture is a language that creates harmony among different nations and we can achieve a lot through culture. We also share in enhancing cooperation in education.

One should note here that Europe’s only (elementary and secondary) school with the curriculum taught in the local language and Chinese is in Hungary. There are five Confucius Institutes in Hungary offering Chinese language courses. Hungary is one of the few countries – possibly the only in Europe – where Chinese is taught from elementary to university level,” Ernő Pető concludes.

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economic relations between the two countries. It is a politics-free professional organization whose board and members are individuals and corporate players who bring in – and are able to use – their experience of long years gained on the Chinese market and by conducting business relations with the Chinese. As a non-official governmental actor if you like, we can ‘afford’ telling more to – and talking in a different way with – the governmental bodies of both countries. We are the professional voice to tell them things that concern, in one way or another, all actors in economic relations between the two countries,” the President adds.

HUNGARIAN FIRMS NEED TO COOPERATE WITH REGIONAL PARTNERS TO ENTER THE CHINESE MARKET

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A PROFESSIONAL VOICE

who came then did not open a Chinese fast food kitchen but started commercial activities: retail and then wholesale businesses, thereby giving Hungary a distribution role in the trade of Chinese goods. Nowadays, there is another wave when we begin to reap the benefits of the encounter between the Eastern Opening policy of the Hungarian government and those of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative' – that I would call ‘Western Opening’ – of the Chinese government,” Ernő Pető says.

He emphasizes that Hungary provides a great opportunity for Chinese ventures to set up businesses inside the European Union. “What politicians always emphasize is that political relations have never been so good between the two countries as today and that naturally has an impact on economic relations as well. One particular field is that of electric vehicles (cars, trucks, motorbikes, bicycles) . The Chinese are looking for Hungarian companies who have a routine and experience, skilled workforce in the manufacturing of vehicles – not necessarily electronic ones because they can add their own technology.” He predicts that the number of Chinese companies in Hungary will grow in the near future and he is hopeful that they will find the proper workforce so that the number of Hungarians employed by Chinese companies will also increase.

The President admits that, given its size, Hungary will never be an important export destination country for Chinese goods nor will it mean an important manufacturing potential for China. If Hungarian firms join forces with companies in the neighboring countries, they could probably produce a quantity that is worth transporting to China but, he says the real opportunity for Hungary lies in logistics services. “The country’s geographical location is a great advantage for Hungary with a lot of international trade routes crossing here. One of the aims of the Hungarian-Chinese Chamber of Economy is to make Hungary a ‘stop-andgo' transit country that reaps the benefits of performing value added services like customs clearance, storage, repackaging into smaller quantities, labeling, etc. that generate much more income and higher employment for this country than simply income from transporting goods through the country.”

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AN EMISSARY OF THE CHINESE KITCHEN MASTER WANG’S CULINARY ENDEAVORS BRING REAL CHINESE CUISINE TO HUNGARY

Authentic Chinese cuisine, unadulterated and unadjusted to Western tastes, is still hard to come by in the Hungarian capital. One Chinese restaurateur has been working hard for nearly three decades to showcase Chinese cuisine that hits all the right notes.

Qiang Wang, dubbed Wang mester (Master Wang), arrived in Hungary in 1991, at the age of 21. His motivation for moving overseas was masterfully simple: he had heard from acquaintances who had already been to Hungary that “this was a beautiful place.” So, he decided to see the place for himself and embarked on a Hungary-bound journey, similarly to 40-50,000 of his fellow countrymen, who arrived with the first big wave of Chinese immigration in 1991-92. Wang fell in love with Budapest and the love affair has stood the test of time. “Compared to China, this is a completely different world,” he says.

His career followed a winding path: he started working as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant, opened a clothing store with a friend and thanks to his command of English, accepted interpreting assignments from members of the Chinese community. Following some less successful ventures, a bar and a car repair shop, he eventually opened his first restaurant in Budapest and found his calling.

Family roots Master Wang’s history with Chinese cuisine is rooted in the family. His grandfather worked as a chef in a famous restaurant in Beijing and little Qiang learned a lot from him. “I was 11 or 12 years old, very much interested in cooking and his skills and culinary art had a great impact on how my life evolved,” he says. Before moving to Hungary, Qiang Wang attended a catering and hotel management school in his homeland, where he acquired all the skills he would later rely on to run his network of restaurants. Wang’s first restaurant, close to the downtown area in Pest was a commercial success. People with a taste for untamed, authentic Chinese cuisine flocked to the place to marvel at his spectacular technique of making noodles. However, circumstances forced him to abandon that venture and he turned his energy and focus to his other restaurant on the Buda side. “Business was not bad, but the place was not as successful as the other one, perhaps due to the location, the lack of parking space, etc. Still, it was attended by well-known people, including government ministers,” he points out.

The secret ingredient Driven to showcase the intricacies of his homeland’s cuisine to larger crowds, Master Wang opened yet another restaurant with a green backyard in the 9th district of Budapest. He confesses that the secret ingredient to his success is Szechuan kitchen with its bold flavors, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as the unique flavor of Szechuan pepper. “Most of the Chinese kitchens in Hungary offer the cuisine of other South Chinese territories. Those are also good but nothing special, nothing like the Szechuan kitchen. We are different, especially because we use a lot of spices that come directly from China, like the Szechuan pepper, which only grows in that special climate.”

Master Wang’s encounter with television only added to his growing fame as one of Hungary’s few authentic Chinese restaurateurs. In the first years of the new millennium, the producers of Hungarian culinary channel ‘Paprika TV’ discovered the young Chinese chef whose dishes were different from the fares offered by other Chinese restaurants and recorded several shows with him.

The fine dining experiment Always eager to experiment and test his boundaries, Qiang Wang opened a Chinese fine dining restaurant in Budapest seven years ago but it was a failed venture. “We did everything well, the food looked nice and tasted good but it was expensive to make. We had a lot of foreign guests, who told me that if this was in London, we would be running a full house all the time. Unfortunately, it was in Budapest and Hungarians were not prepared to pay HUF 20-25,000 for a Chinese meal even if it is fine dining. At least, at that time, Hungarians were not used to such prices,” he recalls. Things may have changed now and he does not exclude the possibility of venturing into fine dining sometime in the future.

Word-of-mouth marketing

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DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

Following a reshuffle of his businesses, Master Wang now operates a restaurant in Budapest’s 14th district and two bistro-style eateries in strategic locations: one near Nagy Vásárcsarnok, Budapest’s most famous indoor market and the other at the city’s best-known crossroads, Oktogon. The restaurant, which serves authentic Szechuan cuisine prepared by Chinese chefs, is decked out with furniture and stone floor tiles imported from China. The two bistros, named ‘Biang’ after a kind of pasta in Shenshi province, offer a wide variety of noodles, which are cut by a robot displayed in the window. Qiang Wang makes a point of visiting all three restaurants daily “for a quality check by tasting the dishes because this is the key to authenticity.” Never one for thinking small, Qiang Wang is planning to open another restaurant in the upscale Buda Hills. “I am thinking of presenting a sort of mixed kitchen, not only Szechuan style.” His experience is that “more and more Hungarians know about my restaurant, especially those who have been to China and are looking for the ‘real’, authentic Chinese kitchen in Hungary. They pass the word on and this ‘wordof-mouth’ communication helps us a lot.” w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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business

EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES

the recent visit to Hungary of the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was yet another sign of flourishing bilateral relations.

INDIAN DELEGATION SEEKS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS AT BUDAPEST EVENT

Economic opportunities

To facilitate bilateral business partnerships, the Embassy of the Republic of India organized an economic roundtable and networking event in the Hungarian capital in September. Industry segments where businesses and experts sought to explore opportunities included water, power and renewable energy, infrastructure, engineering procurement consultancy, telecom, digital identity and digital payments.

DIGITAL LEASH OR INDISPENSABLE GADGET?

operating system is still unquestionable in Hungary. The ratio of Android users has increased from 78% to 85% since 2017, exceeding the worldwide figure of 76% published by Statcounter. Apple’s iOS comes second with 11%, followed by Windows Phone at 3%.

In terms of brands, Samsung tops the list with a 34% market share, followed by Huawei (23%), and Apple (11%). Huawei phones have gained popularity the fastest in recent years in Hungary despite the U.S. having blacklisted the Chinese company in spring 2019 and banning Google services, including the Android operating system, from being used on its phones. Even though the planned sanctions have meanwhile been lifted, the Chinese company has developed its own operating system, dubbed Harmony OS, for multiple smart devices. The development of the system presumably continues behind the scene, including a range of proprietary applications. These efforts are aimed at preparing for any future sanctions by the United States, which may endanger Huawei’s market position worldwide.

RESEARCH SHOWS UNABATED RISE IN THE NUMBER OF SMARTPHONE USERS

Mobile internet subscriptions and smartphone sales continue to rise in Hungary as an increasing number of people rely almost exclusively on their phones in the course of their online activities. Research shows that reliance on smartphones is outstanding, with almost two thirds of smart phone users never turning off their devices.

One screen, unlimited possibilities The number of smartphone users in Hungary stands at 5.3 million, accounting for 89% of all internet users, which means that every second Hungarian is a smartphone owner. Mobile internet subscriptions have surged by 1.7 million to almost 4.5 million between 2017 and May 2019, according to the latest mobile phone study published by

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internet research and consulting firm eNET. The most popular daily activities performed with smartphones are browsing, online messaging via various applications, and checking social media. “The major role that smartphones play in our lives is proven by the continuous increase in the number of people using such devices, and by the way we stick to our

Smartphones have become the staple devices of our digital lives. We rarely part with them and thanks to mobile internet access, they offer almost all the functions we need, replacing other digital devices. An increasing number of smartphone users rely almost only on their phones for online activities. Prime daily online activities include browsing (72%), online messaging via an app (68%), and checking social media (67%).

handsets. Some 71% of smartphone owners never turn off their devices, 55% keep their phones next to their bed at night, and 25% even take them to the toilet,” the report states.

Brands and operating systems In line with international trends, the dominance of smartphones with an Android O C T O B E R

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40 participants representing government bodies, businesses, thinktanks and the diplomatic community attended the event. Participating delegations from India included WAPCOS Ltd, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the International Telecom Union (ITU). From the Hungarian side, high-ranking guests included Dr. András Baranyi, Deputy State Secretary for Eastern Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Dr. Norbert Révai-Bere, Director General of the Department of Fastest Growing Economies at the same Ministry.

In his welcoming speech, Ambassador of India, Kumar Tuhin highlighted recent developments in bilateral relations and invited companies from both sides to explore possible areas of economic cooperation. Dr. András Baranyi said he appreciated the initiative of the Embassy in organizing the event and stressed that

TODOROFF, DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

Shri R.K. Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of WAPCOS Limited, a governmentowned enterprise, gave a comprehensive presentation on the activities of the company, which is present across all verticals of power, water, infrastructure, and has excelled in implementing a number of projects across the globe. WAPCOS also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Budapest Waterworks during the event (see picture).

TRAI Chairman Dr. Ram Sewak Sharma gave an engaging presentation on his country’s ‘Digital India’ initiative, including the seminal work of giving digital identity to nearly 1.2 billion people and providing affordable digital payment options. Dr. Sharma is also the past CEO of the Aadhar project under which unique identification numbers will be issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the government as a Proof of Identity & Address anywhere in India to help people gain access to services like banking, mobile phone connections and other government and non-government services.

The presentations were followed by discussions and a Q&A session while economic opportunities in various states of India were also promoted.

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business

ROCHE EXPANDS OPERATIONS IN HUNGARY GLOBAL BIOTECH BOOSTS FOOTPRINT WITH OPENING OF NEW HUB

Swiss pharmaceutical company F. Hoffman-La Roche’s announcement in late September that it will open a Center for European Pharmacovigilance (PV Hub) on the outskirts of Budapest marks a significant milestone in the company’s 35-year history in Hungary. With the majority of its turnover reinvested in local operations, Roche boasts an outstanding contribution to the Hungarian economy in comparison with industry peers.

The Basel-based pharmaceutical company opened its Hungarian representation office with five people in 1984, as one of the first international businesses to venture behind the Iron Curtain and set up operations in the then Communist country. Fast forward 35 years, and Roche’s headcount now exceeds 1,000 and the company is one of the key players in the Hungarian healthcare sector. The company’s significantly expanded footprint consists of the Pharmaceutical, Diagnostics and Diabetes Care Businesses, a Shared Service Center providing financial, HR and IT services to Roche subsidiaries around the world, and a Regulatory Affairs Center. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant offers a total of 28 medicines that are used in 5 hospital therapeutic areas in Hungary and the number of hospital patients treated with its products in the country was more than 10,000 in 2018.

Focusing on what patients need next Over the past 35 years, Roche has introduced more than 70 innovative products in Hungary, focused on meaningfully improving health outcomes, primarily in the areas of oncology, immunology, hematology and the diseases of the central nervous system. Some of its products are used in all hospitals in Hungary, especially in the treatment of oncology patients. The company has also been conducting clinical trials in Hungary since 1992, offering physicians the chance to gain first-hand experience with cuttingedge products and methodologies. Clinical trials are becoming an indispensable part of the domestic health-care system as they provide patients access to otherwise extremely costly therapies free of charge under controlled conditions. In 2018 alone, the company invested close to HUF 20 billion in more than 80 clinical trials that took place at 44 hospitals across the country. As the boundaries between genetic research, drug and IT innovations fade, the innovations offered by Roche, some of which are also available in Hungary, are no longer the solutions of the future.

photos by

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

The new hub The PV Hub will be based in Budaörs and will employ 25 people. The team will be responsible for processing reports of adverse events associated with the use of Roche medicines across Europe and the Balkans.

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subsidiary competed with 8 other Roche companies for hosting the new PV center.

“I am both pleased and proud the PV hub will be based in Hungary as the highly skilled work undertaken will play a critical role in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of patients across Europe,” Irma Veberic, General Manager of Roche Hungary said at the press conference announcing the new development.

Contributing to economic growth The executive also highlighted that Roche reinvests most of its turnover in Hungary and invests heavily in research and development.

Last year, the company’s activities generated a total contribution to Hungary’s GDP in the amount of HUF 23 billion as Gross Value Added (GVA), corresponding to a GVA rate of 69%, which is 26% higher than the average rate of the pharmaceutical sector in Hungary.

“For my country the pharma sector had long been of outstanding importance: permanent

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innovation and investment are an integral part of these companies and catapulted the Swiss pharma industry to the worldwide top.

Investments like the new pharmacovigilance hub are key factors in order to reach the circle of the most innovative countries in the world.

Not to mention of course, that pharmaceutical research provides answers to some of the most serious challenges to living in the 21st century,” Dr. Peter Burkhart, Ambassador of Switzerland in Hungary, said at the event.

expanding its staff, introducing new and more complex services. “The PV hub reinforces Hungary’s position as an emerging scientific powerhouse. We believe such developments will support the attraction and retention of highly skilled workers, boosting the economic power of the country,” said Levente Magyar, Minister of State for Economic Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Service center powerhouse Over the past decade, Hungary has emerged as a powerhouse of service centers for multinational companies, which take advantage of the country’s central location in Europe and the availability of language skills. Roche also opened a shared service center in the Hungarian capital in 2006, which assists more than 120 Roche subsidiaries across the globe in 26 languages. The service center is still

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european union

BY DIÁNA SAYURI MATSUZAKI

Diána Sayuri Matsuzaki is an international affairs reporter.

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A GAME OF PORTFOLIOS

THE FRONT ROW

The Commission’s eight Vice Presidents, of whom five are granted executive powers, sit closest to the fire. The choice of Vice Presidential candidates has been made with the intention of balancing between North and South, East and West, and some of them are veteran European politicians.

• Frans Timmermans of the Netherlands the Hand of the King in the European Game of Thrones will be close to the center of power if approved as First Executive Vice-President.

• Margrethe Vestagher of Denmark the former frontrunner for the Commission presidency is nominated as Executive Vice-President and will oversee the key Competition portfolio.

• Valdis Dombrovskis of Latvia Executive Vice President, nominated as Commissioner responsible for Financial Services.

• Josep Borrell of Spain the vivacious diplomat is nominated as Vice President and High Representative for Foreign Policy.

• Maros Sevcovic of Slovakia Vice President and Commissioner-to-be for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight • Vera Jourova of the Czech Republic Vice President, assigned the Values and Transparency portfolio.

• Doubravka Suica of Croatia the former mayor of the seaside city of Dubrovnik (a main location for shooting the Game of Thrones!) is nominated as Vice President overseeing Democracy and Demography. She has served as MEP from the start of Croatia’s EU-membership since July 1.

• Margaritis Schinas of Greece a politician with 30 years of experience in the EU and serving as Spokesman of the European Commission in the last 5 years. Schinas is a Vice Presidential nominee in charge of the Protection of the European Way of Life.

THE KINGDOMS AKA THE PORTFOLIOS

• Johannes Hahn of Austria – the former Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Policy is nominated as Commissioner for Budget and Administration and will report directly to von der Leyen.

• Phil Hogan of Ireland – will be responsible for Trade, as a gesture to Ireland, which is directly exposed to Brexit.

Hogan will face a tough balancing act amid the global trade wars fueled by the U.S. administration.

• Mariya Gabriel of Bulgaria – served as commissioner for the Digital Agenda, in the next 5 years she may be responsible for Youth and Innovation.

• Stella Kyrikiades of Cyprus – a health expert assigned the European Health and Food Security portfolio.

• Kadri Simson of Estonia – a former history teacher serving as Minister for Economy in the Government of Jüri Ratas, Simson is designated as Energy Commissioner.

• Jutta Urpilainen of Finland – former finance minister, nominated as Commissioner for International Partnerships.

• Sylvie Goulard of France – deputy governor of the French National Bank and a well-known European diplomat, assigned to oversee Industrial Policy and the Digital Single Market.

• Janusz Wojciechowski of Poland – a member of the European Court of Auditors, recently under investigation, Wojciechowski is nominated as Commissioner for Agriculture.

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• Virgilijus Sinkevicius of Lithuania – educated in Oxford and Wales, he is by far the youngest candidate at 29 and serves as Minister for Economy and Innovation in the Baltic country. He may oversee the Environment and Oceans portfolio.

• Nicholas Schmit of Luxembourg – a recently elected MEP, Schmit is designated to hold the Jobs portfolio.

• Helena Dalli of Malta – the former Maltese Minister of European Affairs would oversee Equality issues.

• Paolo Gentiloni of Italy – former PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs, he would be responsible for the Economy.

• Elisa Ferreira of Portugal – deputy governor of the National Bank of Portugal, former minister and MEP, assigned the portfolio of Cohesion and Reforms.

• Ylva Johansson of Sweden – if approved, Johansson would serve as Commissioner for Home Affairs.

• Janez Lenarcic of Slovenia – nominated to deal with the obscure task of Crisis Management.

• Didier Reynders of Belgium – former Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs, he would lead the Justice portfolio.

The nomination of Romania’s Rovana Plumb as Commissioner for Transport and László Trócsányi from Hungary as Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy was rejected by MEPs, citing financial conflicts of interest.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán named Olivér Várhelyi, the country’s current EU ambassador, to replace Trócsányi while the government in Bucharest has yet to propose a new candidate.

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A GLANCE AT THE SELECTION OF THE EU’S NEXT GOVERNING BODY

photo by MELANIE

Taking a closer look at the election process of EU Commissioners, anyone keen on watching television series is bound to instantly think of the Game of Thrones. Much like the multiple award-winning series, the proceedings are all about tactics, forging (oftentimes temporary) alliances and campaigning for the sake of gaining power and being at the helm of the European Union. However, for the first time in history, the EU is going to have a female President with a different point of view. In a departure from the usual political maneuvering, one of her most important considerations when putting together her college of 27 commissioners is balance.

President-elect Ursula von der Leyen selected her new Commissioner candidates – her new EU-squad – in a manner to deliver on her objective of forming a well-balanced Committee from a geographical and gender perspective. “This team will shape the European Way: we will take bold action against climate change, build our partnership with the United States, define our relations with a more selfassertive China and be a reliable neighbor, for example to Africa …

I want a Commission that is led with determination, that is clearly focused on the issues at hand and that provides answers. I want it to be a well-balanced, agile and modern Commission,” von der Leyen said when presenting her team on September 10 in Brussels.

The list contains 26 names, some well-known, some new to the European elite, and consists of 12 women and 14 men. The line-up is also proof that political balance has been taken into consideration: ten candidates come from the European People’s Party, ten from the European Socialists, six from the liberals and one has the support of the Greens. The United Kingdom does not nominate a commissioner this year for the obvious reason called Brexit. Diplomacy&Trade compiled the list of the von der Leyen Commission, whose members need to be approved by the relevant committees of the European Parliament and finally by the European Council before taking office on November 1 with a 5-year mandate.

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STAN AHUJA IS THE YOUNG VOICE OF MASTERFUL TAILORING AND CRAFTSMANSHIP.

STAN AHUJA PASSION FOR TAILORING

+36 1 354 0195 www.s t anahuj a. c om in fo@s t anahuj a. c om 1061 B udapest, Andrássy út 3 8 .

H – P: 10: 00 – 19: 00 SZO: 11: 00 – 16: 00

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witty leaks WITTY

LE A K S

IN THIS SERIES, DIPLOMATS SHARE PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF THEIR EXPERIENCES ON “EXCURSIONS” into Hungarian culture, art, gastronomy & scenery.

COLD DOGS FOR LUNCH… AN ‘INADEQUATE’ NEIGHBOR AND TWO HUNGARIAN JESUITS IN PROTESTANT NORWAY

When joining the Ministry, I was placed in the bureau dealing with the Eastern or Communist bloc, as it was then called. Every now and then – in fact every two-three weeks – I was called to the office of the state secretary to take notes when he received the Soviet ambassador, upon the latter’s request. Needless to say, Norway did not enjoy such access in Moscow. This was a period of East-West tension, but the meetings were friendly enough, especially when the talks centered around fisheries management. Once, the ambassador announced that he would invite both fisheries negotiating teams for a friendly lunch, whereupon the state secretary jokingly asked whether the ambassador would serve capelin, a basically inedible fish. The conversation was taking place in English and the ambassador quickly uttered that he would serve ... well, “what is the name?,” he turned toward his assistant and said indeyka in Russian, namely turkey. Good, I thought, and helpingly offered the following in Norwegian to the state secretary: The ambassador means kalkun. “No, no! exclaimed the ambassador’s Norwegianspeaking assistant in shock and desperation, not cold dog (kald hund in Norwegian). Cold dogs were definitely not on the menu! I was glad to see the other side off balance for a second. One of my happier moments as an interpreter! 1-0 for us, if you wish.

qualities, and to better understand Crimea in its historical, ethnic and political context. In 2008, I was invited to Sevastopol to celebrate the city’s 225th anniversary. I came across a funny note on the hotel room table, which read: "Please do not throw cigarette butts out of the window. The neighbor is inadequate." Clearly, the neighbor had a difficult or fierce temperament, maybe bordering on derangement or beyond. I could not help interpret the word ‘neighbor’ in a broader meaning, but had, of course, no idea that just six years later, the neighbor would actually come over and steal the whole city and peninsula!

Hungarian Venus expedition to Norway My third little story starts in 1768 when DanishNorwegian king Christian VII requested empress Maria Theresa through diplomatic channels to make her eminent astronomer Maximilian Hell available for a scientific expedition to 70° North and 31° East, namely, to the island town Vardø in Northern Norway. Why? In order to observe the rare passage of planet Venus in front of the Sun on June 3-4, 1769 in conditions of midnight sun. This was an astronomical event of the highest order and many countries entered a scientific race to get the best measurements, which would make it possible to calculate the true distance between Earth and the Sun. The empress gave her consent. However, a problem emerged that only the king was able to solve.

Maximilian Hell, mathematician, astronomer and many other things, was an ordained catholic priest of the Jesuit order. And so was his assistant, pater János Sajnovics. Both Hell and Sajnovics were born on the territory of the

Kingdom of Hungary and regarded themselves Hungarians. The king waived the prohibition (even the possible capital punishment) against Jesuits and other Papists entering the DanishNorwegian kingdom and they set out from Vienna more than a year before the actual date. They were advised to be discreet with their religious practice and not to address each other or introduce themselves as Pater this or that. Pater Hell called himself professor Hell. All went well, except that the voyage along the Norwegian coast by boat presented more than one perilous moment. But aided by a small DanishNorwegian contingent of officials and helpers, they and all the scientific equipment and other supplies arrived safely in Vardø. Along the coast, in small trading and fishing villages, they came across a non-Norwegian speaking local population, the Sami or Lapps. The scholarly Jesuits quickly discovered that there were similarities between the Sami language and Hungarian, and later (in 1770) János Sajnovics produced a linguistic study of great interest and relevance even today.

relation to Russia and to Sweden. Nevertheless, their stay must have been utter hardship, especially in comparison with civilized Vienna, and probably even more so due to a local habit of hard partying with alcohol and women every weekend during the winter when the sun did not rise above the horizon. A couple of weeks into their ordeal ‘Professor’ Hell and ‘Mr.’ Sajnovics found reason to limit their participation in these parties, which was probably a loss for the locals who needed civilized manners.

When the days grew longer in the spring, Hell and Sajnovics ventured further from Vardø, in the Varanger area, exploring the flora and fauna, ebb and tide, aurora borealis and other phenomena not common in Central Europe.

Sometimes they avoided traveling in pair even when accompanied by locals, lest they come across carnivore animals or cannibals in the wilderness. The hope was that at least one of them would survive in order to make the crucial astronomical observation. In the end, the observation of Venus and the Sun went very well. The thick clouds which had obscured the Sun the whole day on June 3, 1769 lifted a few minutes before 21:15 when the Venus transit was about to start. The transit lasted about six hours, and the Midnight Sun was also clearly visible at the crucial moment when Venus exited.

The Venus expedition of 1768-69 to Vardø by two Hungarian Jesuits is a unique story, and even if they must have endured substantial hardship, they probably also experienced many funny moments, at least viewed in retrospect.

I had the great privilege of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the expedition in Vardø on June 3-4, 2019 (see picture) and at a commemorative scientific conference in Budapest on September 26, 2019 at the Academy of Sciences, in cooperation between the Norwegian embassy, the Konkoly Thege Miklós Astronomical Institute and the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE University.

If there is a common trait in these three stories, it is probably language. Language can be the source of humor, it can carry a hidden meaning, and it can convey expert scientific knowledge – even about the linguistic relationship between Hungarian and Sami in Northern Norway!

Catholic hardships The two Jesuits arrived in Vardø in October 1768 and spent the whole winter in that remote part of Europe. The town was built around a well-equipped and supplied fortress, marking the border of Norwegian territory both in

Inadequate neighbor Many years later, I came across a real linguistic jewel, during my tenure as ambassador in Ukraine. I was a frequent visitor to Crimea, to follow-up on successful Norwegian-Ukrainian projects, to enjoy the land’s beauty and touristic

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These things in the title and subtitle have nothing in common, but they are in a way representative of some funny and interesting things that I have encountered since I started working for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1980. So, here are three unrelated ‘episodes’ from my life as a diplomat.

TO THE EMBASSY OF NORWAY BY THE NATIONAL SZÉCHENYI LIBRARY, DAN TORE JØRGENSEN

BY OLAV BERSTAD, AMBASSADOR OF NORWAY

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A TALE OF LOVE IN THE SHADOW OF DARKNESS HUNGARY’S OSCAR NOMINATION TAKES NOVEL APPROACH TO THE HOLOCAUST

culture Aldo (Károly Hajduk), a concentration camp survivor, is leading a solitary life in post-war Budapest, hiding under a façade of normalcy by repressing his emotions and memories. When the inwardly devastated gynecologist meets 16-year-old Klára, who stubbornly awaits the return of her parents from the concentration camps despite knowing the truth, the two strike up an unlikely friendship that will guide them through the process of grief and closure. Director Barnabás Tóth’s drama, which debuted at the Telluride Film Festival this year, is an epic take on how love grows gingerly

An unlikely friendship blossoms between a middle-aged physician and a teenage girl in the aftermath of World War II as the Soviet-driven Communist regime gradually engulfs the warravaged country. Those Who Remained is a soul-lifting movie about the healing power of love set against the backdrop of the horrors of the Holocaust. in the shadow of loss and fear. While there is a plethora of literary and cinematic works of art about the culprits and the victims of war and the Holocaust itself, there is hardly any mention of the survivors. What happened to those who came home?

Who stayed behind? Based on a 2004 novel by Zsuzsa F. Várkonyi, the film is a heart-warming ode to those who survived the ravages of war and the Holocaust, their desperation and thirst for love and hope. Aldo cuts a credible, aweinspiring figure, who musters the very last of his strength to save an orphaned girl. Klára, excellently portrayed by 19-year old actress Abigél Szőke, is a traumatized and precocious teenager full of hurt and hatred for the world.

Modern knight story

Tóth, who has a prolific career as a director of short movies, calls the film “a modern-day knight story” about a hero constantly making new sacrifices for the beloved person who has given him back his own sense of life. “He sets an example while never raising any false hopes. The film balances between emotions, past and future, sorrow and joy. I would be happy if I managed to help viewers along this tightrope without falling,” the director says.

From an impulsive and stubborn adolescent, Klára gradually evolves into a young woman under the wings of her guardian while the doctor's life takes on a new meaning by caring for her. They are both struggling to survive the mundane, the seemingly senseless tasks of everyday life as they draw on their sources of love from their past lives to heal from the trauma of 1944. Despite the somber theme and historical period, the movie is peppered with light humor, helping ease the emotional burden.

Those Who Remained, screened by some Hungarian cinemas with English subtitles, is Hungary’s entry for the 2020 Academy Awards in the best international film category. The American Film Academy will select five feature films in early January, which will eventually compete for the Oscar for Best International Film. The list of nominees will be announced on January 13, 2020 and the award ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on February 9. Hungary won the foreign-language award with László Nemes’ Son of Saul in 2016, the country’s second Oscar after István Szabó’s Mephisto win in 1982.

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BUDAPEST FILM

NOV.08. – MAR.01.

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society Indonesian Independence Day In celebration of the 74th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia’s declaration of independence, Ambassador Dimas Wahab entertained guests at the Hungarian Heritage House in the Hungarian capital. The reception was followed by a musical performance.

Malaysia National Day In celebration of the 62nd National Day of Malaysia and the 50th Anniversary of Malaysia-Hungary relations, Ambassador Cheong Loon Lai welcomed members of the diplomatic corps and guests, including Malay nationals living in Hungary, at a reception at the Budapest Marriott Hotel.

Guests of the Ambassador of the Ukrainian Republic, Liubov Nepop celebrated the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union at the Museum of Military History in the Buda Castle. The Ukrainian parliament adopted the Act of Independence in 1991.

New Ambassadors to Hungary

Mexican Ambassador David Nájera received guests in his residence in Buda for a celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day. The ‘Día de la Independencia’ commemorates the ‘cry for independence’ on September 16, 1810, which started a revolt against Spanish occupiers.

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Mexico Independence Day

Three new ambassadors accredited to Hungary presented their credentials to Hungarian President János Áder at the Sándor Palace in the Buda Castle in September. The newly arrived diplomats are Leena Al-Hadid from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Tibor Bial from the Czech Republic (top) and Siegfried Peinen from the Kingdom of Belgium (bottom).

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, COURTESY PICTURES

Ukrainian Independence Day

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society China National Day On the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, as well as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and China, a reception was held

by Ambassador Duan Jielong in the Castle Garden Bazaar event center in Budapest.

Chinese Traditional Writing On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and the People’s Republic of China, the exhibition ‘Ancient Writing – Modern Design’ opened at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The event also marked the 120th anniversary of the discovery of oracle bone script.

Saudi National Day In September, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia celebrated the 89th anniversary of the unification of the kingdom by the late King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud in 1932. The country’s Ambassador, Mohammed A. Almatrafi welcomed guests at a reception in the Ballroom of the Budapest Marriott Hotel.

World Press Photo 2019

photos by DÁVID

HARANGOZÓ

The 2019 exhibition of the world's most prestigious annual photo exhibition opened in the Hungarian National Museum Budapest in September. Open until October 23, the exhibition showcases some of the most memorable moments of the past year. The Budapest display was organized by Pulitzer Memorial Award winning Hungarian photographer Tamás Révész who won a World Press Award himself in 1991. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

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LARA FABIAN CONCERT

NOVEMBER 5, Papp László Budapest Sport Arena

With more than 20 million albums sold worldwide, Lara Fabian returns with her ‘50 World Tour’. The Canadian-Belgian singer, songwriter, musician, actress and producer is one of the most successful European artists of all time, who sings in nine languages: French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Hebrew, Flemish, German and Russian. She was only 18 when her single "Croire” sold 500,000 copies in Europe. Lara’s second album, "Carpe Diem” reached triple platinum and received many awards from several countries, among them Best Female Singer of the year. The tour will be a celebration of Lara’s upcoming 50th birthday, with a special show celebrating her 30-year career with all of her songs from 14 studio albums, including all her major hits. www.livenation.hu

NATIONAL GALLOP

OCTOBER 19-20, Heroes’ Square

Since its inception, the annual Nemzeti Vágta (National Horse Racing) has drawn huge crowds to Budapest’s Heroes’ Square. The grand event offers visitors many programs: hussar and horse shows, archer shows, folklore programs and handcraft exhibitions, in addition to the races. The ‘Racing Prom’ will host a colorful cavalcade of even Hungary’s smallest villages’ most typical cultural, art and touristic characteristics. It is a representative ‘mini Hungary’. Do not miss the ‘Kitchen of Hungary’, extending from the Art Hall to the 1956 monument, where show jumping, polo, special coach-driving races and free horse riding will be available.

WORLD PRESS PHOTO 2019 UNTIL OCTOBER 23,

Hungarian National Museum Hailed as the Oscars of photojournalism, the World Press Photo exhibitions attract up to four million people each year worldwide in 45 different countries. Now in its 62nd year, the World Press Photo exhibition is the most significant traveling exhibit dedicated entirely to photojournalism, profiling the globe's top press photographers and showcasing the world's most provocative and poignant press photos. To select the winners of the 2019 contest, an international panel of judges reviewed 78,801 photographs over a three-week period that commenced on January 12. The photos were submitted in nine categories, such as Contemporary issues, Environment, General news, Long-term projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports, Spot news, and the newest headline category introduced in 2019: Story of the year. 4,738 photographers competed from 129 countries. 43 of these photographers received awards, including Hungarian photographer Bence Máté.

THE SURREALIST MOVEMENT FROM DALÍ TO MAGRITTE – CRISIS AND REBIRTH IN 1929

UNTIL OCTOBER 20, Hungarian National Gallery

The show, organized in conjunction with the Centre Pompidou is primarily based on a selection from the rich collection of the Parisian institution. It documents the main trends of Surrealism, its central figures and outstanding artists through the extremely eventful period in the movement’s history, the year 1929 fraught with personal and artistic conflict. One of the most noteworthy moments of 1929 was the appearance of Salvador Dalí of Catalonia on the Parisian art scene and his taking the leading role in the group of surrealists. His film, made together with Luis Buñuel, Un chien Andalou, debuted that year, and was the first masterpiece of surrealist moving pictures, confirming that the unique perspective and new artistic approach advocated by the movement can be coupled with the most varied technical solutions. The show provides a broad overview of the works made at the time by the surrealists, including Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso and Francis Picabia.

Surrealist photography is represented at the exhibition with works by Man Ray and Brassaï, while visitors can also see lesser known but nevertheless important figures such as Jacques André Boiffard.

www.mnm.hu

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LIVE NATION, NATIONAL GALLOP, BRENT STIRTON/GETTY IMAGES, RENÉ MAGRITTE: THE RED MODEL/1935 © ADAGP PARIS

www.vagta.hu

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EROS RAMAZZOTTI CONCERT

OCTOBER 24, Papp László Budapest Sport Aréna

Singer, songwriter and musician Eros Ramazzotti hails from Rome’s Cinecitta. His nasal but forceful and resonant baritone voice first gained recognition across Italy, and soon after, captured the attention of the whole world. He has sold over 60 million records, and regularly performs live to stadium-size crowds. His duets are particularly well-received, especially those sung alongside Cher, Andrea Bocelli, Joe Cocker, Carlos Santana, Tina Turner, Luciano Pavarotti, Ricky Martin, Elton John and Rod Stewart. His fans adore the energetic way he delivers melodic, passionate mid-tempo ballads – a signature genre developed during a 35-year-long career. The Italian superstar’s world tour kicked off in Munich, and will stop in 32 countries, including Hungary, supporting Ramazzotti’s newest album ‘Vita Ce N’è’ (There is Life), released on November 23, 2018.

DIMITRI DE PERROT: MYOUSIC OCTOBER 11-12, Trafó

Imagine that you go to a concert and neither hear nor see a thing – even though the performance has already begun. For the time being, the backdrop of sound is simply the empty space, celebrating the pause before the onset, playing with the tension before the explosion, and playing with you, with your expectations and your reactions. The performance and the audience are the focus of MYOUSIC, the first solo production by Dimitri de Perrot.

And you, the audience, are the fundamental component of the evening. You generate the sound; you are at once the instrument and soundbox. You are the orchestra and the audience all in one. For MYOUSIC, the artist took a seat in the audience and asked himself: Who is actually making the music here? Playfully, tenderly, humorously and discerningly, the artist fine-combs the relationship between the performance and the audience, their mutual expectations, promises and disappointments. In this fashion, an image of a relationship is drawn, an affectionate, yet challenging liaison. As both the sound artist and director, he also explores the formal possibilities of performance and challenges the audience not only to hear but also to see the sounds; indeed, even thoughts can be rendered audible.

The drummer Julian Sartorius and a sound sculpture by Dimitri de Perrot tell the story of a performance, a piece, a concert, listening to everything that surrounds them. The result is an extraordinary stage moment, without actors, composed simply of sounds and rhythms. Imagine that you look inwardly to become a concert. Imagine that you are the music.

www.koncertpromo.hu

www.trafo.hu

CAFE BUDAPEST CONTEMPORARY ARTS FESTIVAL OCTOBER 4-20, multiple venues in Budapest

Known for many years as the Budapest Autumn Festival, this fest is Europe’s leading happening of contemporary arts, during which Budapest’s cultural life comes alive with artists and works of contemporary art ranging from classical and pop music to dance, films and fine arts, children’s programs. As many as 100 programs are on offer at different venues, such as Akvárium, A38 Ship, Budapest Jazz Club, Kiscelli Museum, Liszt Academy, Ludwig Museum, Müpa Budapest, Várkert Bazár and Vigadó, in addition to many public places in the city.

This year, the festival celebrates its 28th anniversary.

The affiliated events will include the Budapest Ritmo world music festival and the Art Market Budapest.

photos by

AUGUSTIN REBETEZ, MARIA JARZYNA, KONCERTPROMO.HU

www.cafebudapestfest.hu

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gastronomy

THE FALL’S MOST AROMATIC FESTIVAL SEKLER CAKE FESTIVAL

The fall’s most aromatic food festival is organized in Budapest’s City Park (Városliget) on October 11-13. The goal of the three-day-fest has remained unchanged since its foundation: to preserve Hungarian customs by raising the popularity of the sekler cake (also called chimney cake) and presenting its original, traditional method of preparation. Sekler cakes will be prepared over charcoal, in an endless variety of tastes and sizes, including ’healthy choices’ such as gluten and lactose free versions. In addition to the irresistible smell and taste of the sekler cake, the festival offers cultural programs with famous Hungarian performers on stage.

DID YOU KNOW?

TAIWAN

1097 Budapest, Albert F. út 3. • +36 1 215 1236 taiwan.etterem@t-online.hu • www.taiwan-restaurant.hu

• Wonton Soup • Peking duck • Fresh seafood • Wah-Tang Chicken • Sliced Pork with Chinese mushrooms Diplomacy-n-Trade.ai 1 2017. 02. 27.

TAIWAN SERVES THE MOST AUTHENTIC REGIONAL CHINESE FOOD IN BUDAPEST. The menu contains specialties from the four most significant cuisines of China: Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and Canton, each of which has its own remarkable flavors and ingredients. The owner imports the highest quality ingredients from China and Canada, as well as oysters from Belgium. The crustaceans are kept alive in tanks of sea water, while the fish swim in 11:22:30 their own pool until they are ready to be cooked.

CSABA SCHUMY/DFP.HU, TAMA

• Sekler cake is a special product with a unique method of preparation and production. It received its Hungarian name ‘kürtőskalács’ from its shape, which resembles a chimneystack.

The dough is cut into long strips, which are then rolled around an oiled, thick wooden spit and often dipped in various flavorings (traditionally cinnamon and sugar) and then baked over charcoal while the spit is turned by hand.

• In 2015, the Hungaricum Commission has declared Sekler Cake as a Hungaricum. It also has a ‘Traditions-Flavors-Regions’ trademark.

• The first recorded recipe was included in a Transylvanian cookbook published in 1784 by Lady Mária Mikes of Zabola. By the end of the 18th century, the pastry had become popular throughout all Hungarian language territories and had become an important element of both folk and city cuisine. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the recipe was included in several famous Hungarian cook books, and in the early 20th century people began coating the exterior with crushed walnuts and sugar. Transdanubian terms for it include “roll on a stick”, “truncheon bun” and “cudgel cake”, while in the eastern part of the country people usually call it "chimney cake," "chimney bun," “chimney dunker” or just a “chimney.”

• Sekler cake set out on its journey of world conquest in the 1990’s and can now be found in many countries and locations, including New York City in the U.S..

• In case you miss the event, head to Édes Mackó, a pastry shop fully dedicated to sekler cake – open year-round near the Zoo, at Holnemvolt Castle.

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photos by WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/VANIKZOLTANFOTO,

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VISIT US AND TASTE OUR WASABI YUZU BEER!

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SPARKLING TOKAJ BOOGIE IN THE CELLAR

Pétillant naturel a.k.a. pét-nat is a kind of sparkling wine. It has a history dating back to the 17th century, so it is by no means a new technology. However, recent years have seen a huge upturn in its popularity both among winemakers and customers. The resurgence of pét-nat has coincided with the rise of the natural wine movement. Unlike champagne and prosecco, no strict regulations exist which producers must adhere to, pét-nat can be made in any region, can be fermented in oak, steel or even amphorae, and there is ample room for winemakers to experiment with vinification and even various grape varieties.

Pét-nat is produced in the méthode ancestral, a simple but risky technology. The wine is bottled prior to fully completing its first fermentation, allowing alcohol and carbon dioxide to be produced by the natural sugars found in the grapes, so that eventually bubbles emerge in the bottle. Once bottled, the wine is left to its own devices, free to follow its own route. Pét-nat is typically produced by leaving the wine on its lees, so it looks a bit opaque with texture and its aromas are quite different and excitingly unusual compared to 'traditional' wines. “It was my husband who came up with a new idea and suggested one morning that we should give pét-nat a try,” Tímea Éless says.

“We have produced 800 bottles, all made of furmint. They all turned out great: very special items in our cellar’s repertoire.”

The raw material for ’boogie’, the new pét-nat was provided by grapes grown in the Dukát-vineyard displaying excellent acidity.

Pressing was even gentler than ever before, and then the must was racked into a 15 hl tank where it fermented without added yeast. Sugar and alcohol levels were constantly monitored because preliminary calculations have established that 16 grams of sugar were required for the desired pressure to build in the bottles. When optimal levels were reached, stirring was avoided. Instead, the bottles were filled from the bottom of the tank in order to feed the yeast with an extra amount of lees thereby assisting fermentation.

The wine’s presentation is intentionally out of the ordinary though it has a practical side, as well. Each bottle is placed upside down in a cardboard cylinder. Customers can decide whether they want to stir up gently the lees or remove the sediment accumulated in the neck of the bottle. It’s a matter of individual taste but should you opt for either shaking or 'disgorgement' it is advisable to submerge the bottle in water when opening because of the great pressure. Pét-nat is a category known for its lighthearted playfulness and this is what Szóló Winery intends its customers to be engaged in. Boogie is the kind of wine where one glass is never enough. Sometimes not even a whole bottle is enough.

photos by

FURMINT PHOTO

Szóló Winery in Tállya is known for its adventurous spirit and exciting wines. Winemaker Tímea Éless has a special knack for finding the right balance between traditional Tokaj technology and up-to-date, cutting edge styles.

The latest result of her experiments is a pét-nat called boogie.

wine

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Beautiful from every angle The new Audi A4.

Forward Thinking. From Audi.

With its sleek lines and distinctive design features, the new Audi A4 is breathtaking. Wichever way you look at it.

The average combined fuel consumption of the new Audi A4 is 4.9–6.8 l/100km, and its CO2 emission is 125–155 g/km. The fuel consumption and CO2 emission values have been determined according to the current version of the required standard (Regulation (EC) No 715/2007).

These values serve as a basis for comparison with other vehicle types and do not guarantee the actual fuel consumption of the vehicle.

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