BUDAPEST: April 26, 2019. Hungary and China are set to increase links with the news that Budapest Airport will cooperate closely with two major Chinese cargo hubs. This is the main goal of the cooperation agreement signed during the “Belt and Road Forum” summit held in Beijing.

Budapest Airport has stepped up its efforts to turn the premier Hungarian airport into a major distribution and logisticsbase for China in the Central and Eastern European region.

The document was signed by Wang Zhendong, deputy managing director of Xi’an Xianyang International Airport and René Droese, chief property and cargo officer of Budapest Airport in the presence of Péter Szijjártó, minister of foreign affairs and trade.

“We are delighted that a cooperation agreement between the airport of Xi’anand Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport is signed, as this agreement may link additional Chinese cities to the network where direct flights are available from Hungary, from Budapest.

"In addition to economic ties, our connections in tourism can also be developed further. Last year, a record number of 256 thousand Chinese tourists visited Hungary, representing a growth rate of 14 percent,” said Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The support of Hungarian diplomats and trade promotion experts has helped Budapest Airport to double the weekly capacity of direct cargo flights between Budapest, Hong KongandZhengzhou, and also to enhance the belly cargo links on board scheduled Air China passenger flights between Beijing and Budapest.

"The foundation stone was laid with the direct connection to Zhengzhou, and now it is time to further intensify our cooperation with our new Chinese partners,and thus exploit the enormous potential in the freight business in particular.

"Zhengzhou, Xi'an and Budapest share a great dynamic of growth,and we are very confident that we can mutually benefit from thiscooperation," said Jost Lammers, Budapest Airport CEO.

Since the beginning of April Cargolux has been operating two additional direct cargo flights perweek between Zhengzhou, one of the fastest growing airports in the world, and Budapest. With Xi'an International Airport, in the industrial province of Shaanxi, Budapest Airport has gained a strategically important partner to help develop the Hungarian capital airport into a regional cargo hub in Central and Southeast Europe for Chinese enterprises.

To meet increasing demand from all-cargo airlines, last year Budapest Airport launched a €32.6 million project to construct a new Cargo City.