Hungary: EU can push itself into a corner because of Russia’s ‘sanctions hysteria’
Speaking at the Budapest International Peace Forum on June 6, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto said that “the EU can push itself into a corner with sanctions hysteria”, which has severely weakened the economy and pose a threat to energy security.
Szijjarto said that EU sanctions against Russia not only failed to achieve the stated goal of ending the conflict in Ukraine, but only caused serious problems in the European and global economy.
“Now the debate continues about the 11th package of sanctions, but I think it is clear to everyone that the sanctions have failed,” Hungary’s foreign minister told the forum.
“Apart from the fact that there is a war going on in Europe and people are dying, the economic consequences of this war are most pronounced here, in the European Union, not abroad. One year and three months after the conflict broke out in Ukraine, the risk of escalation increases and the economic competitiveness of the EU has decreased compared to the US,” Szijjarto stressed.
In this regard, the foreign minister confirmed that the Hungarian government proposes to find a way to resolve the Ukraine conflict in another way, which is to call on the warring parties to cease fire immediately and begin peace negotiations.
In a related move, an unnamed official of the Russian Delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on June 6 said that Moscow opposes Brussels’ implementation of a trade policy that is not in accordance with international rules and is subject to abuse. dominated by political factors.
The Russian official added that Moscow is deeply concerned about the EU’s downplaying of the consequences of the move for other WTO members as well as for the union itself.
According to Russia’s trade mission to the WTO, the EU is “shooting itself in the foot” when it comes to imposing sanctions on Moscow. The EU’s anti-Russian sanctions have disrupted world trade, which has also led to a sharp increase in commodity prices in Europe, high inflation and increased political instability in the region.
After Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, the West stepped up punitive pressure on Moscow. EU countries consider giving up Russian oil and gas. Many countries announced a freeze on Russian assets and called for the abandonment of Russian energy. All of this has become a problem for the US and Europe, sending fuel and food prices soaring.
Recently, the World Bank forecast that Russia’s GDP in real terms will shrink by 0.2% in 2023 and expect growth of 1.2% in 2024.
According to the data outlined in the document, the estimated GDP reduction for the current year is up 3.1 percentage points from the January forecast and down 0.4 percentage point for 2024.
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development predicts Russia’s GDP growth in 2023 at 1.2%. The Bank of Russia also expects economic growth in 2023 to be in the range of 0.5-2%.
Russia-China trade turnover continues to increase strongly, expected to set a new record
Trade turnover between Russia and China from January to May this year increased by 40.7% year-on-year to $93.806 billion and may continue to break records this year. , according to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China on June 7.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Specifically, in the first five months of the year, Russia imported $42.947 billion worth of goods from China, up 75.6% over the same period in 2022, while shipments from Russia to China increased by 20.4%. , amounting to 50.859 billion USD.
In May alone, trade turnover between the two countries amounted to 20,573 billion USD. Of which, Russia exported $11.306 billion worth of goods to China, while China’s imports into Russia were $9.267 billion.
Bilateral trade between Russia and China set a record in 2021 when it reached 140 billion USD. By 2022, the trade turnover between the two countries will continue to increase by 29.3% and reach a new record of 190,271 billion USD.
Earlier, the leaders of Russia and China set a goal to double the trade turnover between the two countries, from US$100 billion in 2018 to US$200 billion by 2024. After the talks between the heads of the two countries. In Beijing on February 4, 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping set a target of increasing trade between Russia and China to $250 billion per year.
Relations between China and Russia are now deepening like never before amid heightened tensions between the two countries with the West and the United States. Not only in military terms, Russia and China have also marked their diplomatic and economic cooperation.
While the US and its allies announced a series of harsh sanctions against Russia to condemn Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, China has so far maintained a balanced position. It insists it neither supports nor participates in the imposition of sanctions on Russia.
China is currently Russia’s top national trading partner and the second largest importer of Russian oil.
The Chinese government has repeatedly affirmed that economic and trade activities between China and Russia will continue to take place normally in the context of Russia receiving a series of sanctions from the US and the West in response to Russia’s military campaign. in Ukraine.
The trip to Russia in March was the first foreign visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping shortly after being re-elected for a third term.
On March 21, President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin jointly signed and published the Joint Statement of China and Russia on strengthening comprehensive strategic partnership and cooperation in a new era at the Kremlin in Moscow. Moscow.
Cambodia shook hands with Chinese enterprises to build a highway of 1.35 billion USD, connecting Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok
The Phnom Penh – Bavet expressway project has a total length of 135.1 km, along with 3.7 km of paths for bridge works across rivers and canals, with a total investment of 1.35 billion USD. under the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT) with a 50-year exploitation period.
Of which 20% is invested by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), the remaining 80% is from this company’s loan.
Along with the above project, the Royal Government of Cambodia has decided to invest 232.58 million USD in building a bridge across the Mekong River connecting Dei Edth commune, Kien Svay district, with Thmor Kor commune, Lvea Em district (Kandal province) through through the Ring Road 3 and connecting the Phnom Penh – Bavet highway project.
Both projects are under the same contractor CRBC, expected to be completed in 2027, after 48 months of construction.
The highway connecting the capital Phnom Penh with Bavet city will bring many opportunities when connecting with the highway that Vietnam will build, connecting the expressway system from Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh, and between Phnom Penh and Bangkok of Thailand. Specifically, the Phnom Penh – Bavet expressway adjacent to Moc Bai border gate (Tay Ninh province), is expected to connect with the Moc Bai – Ho Chi Minh City highway. Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam.
Before that, the Management Board of the Investment Project of Traffic Works in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City (TCIP) has proposed to speed up the implementation of the expressway project connecting the city. Ho Chi Minh City with Tay Ninh province to Moc Bai international border gate. The highway project Ho Chi Minh City – Moc Bai has a length of more than 50 km, connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Tay Ninh to the Moc Bai international border gate connecting Cambodia via the Phnom Penh – Bavet highway.
The project goes through the territory of Ho Chi Minh City with a length of 23.7 km and a section through Tay Ninh with a length of 26.3 km, starting from Ring Road 3 in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City, the route parallels the existing National Highway 22. . The end point connects to National Highway 22, Moc Bai border gate area.
Regarding capital for the project, TCIP said that it proposed the central budget to support VND 2,900 billion, accounting for 29% of the total state capital participating in the project; expenditure on compensation for site clearance of the two localities to ensure disbursement in 2025, of which Tay Ninh is 1,532 billion dong and HCMC is 1,368 billion dong.
Once formed and put into operation, this will be an important trans-Asia route, connecting economic centers, border-gate economic zones, urban centers of the southern key economic region, aviation hubs and airports. international seaport, shortening the distance with Cambodia…