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Jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development of Hungary, the China-Hungary Friendship City Conference was held in Budapest from February 18 to 21.

One hundred and six delegates from 16 provinces and cities of China and 150 delegates from 15 Hungarian counties and cities took part in the conference. Officials of the Hungarian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the Ministry of Economics and Transportation, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development were also present at the conference.

Chen Haosu, president of the CPAFFC, Zhang Chunxiang, Chinese ambassador to Hungary, Dr. Istvan Ujhelyi, state secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, and Dr. Huszty Andras, representative of the Prime MinisterOffice, attended the conference and made speeches. Dr. Virag Rudolf, state secretary with special responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, presided over the conference.

In his speech, President Chen Haosu highly appraised the development of Sino-Hungarian relations, and pointed out continuously strengthening practical cooperation between local governments would effectively enrich the content of friendly cooperative relationship between the two countries. The CPAFFC greatly appreciates the Hungarian counterparts initiative in holding the conference, and fully supports it, hoping local governments of the two countries will further expand fields of cooperation.

Ambassador Zhang Chunxiang said, in recent years the bilateral relations between China and Hungary have witnessed a healthy and sustained development, during which leaders of the two countries exchanged visits and exchanges in various fields have become more frequent and made satisfactory achievements. He hoped the conference would help promote mutual understanding and broaden cooperation.

State Secretary Dr. Istvan Ujhelyi praised the rapid development of Chinas economy and its achievements, and expressed the willingness of Hungary to become Chinas cooperative partner and conduct all-round cooperation with China in the fields of economy, trade, culture, etc.

The three-day conference consisted of plenary sessions and workshops. At the plenary sessions, representatives of China and Hungary made interesting speeches. Representatives from Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan Province and Harbin spoke respectively on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Shanghai World Expo 2010, China Western development and the rejuvenation of old industrial base in North-East China. Representatives from 7 regions of Hungary briefed the participants on the basic facts of their regions. Officials of the ministries talked about their cooperation with Chinese counterparts. The participants of both countries held discussions in 5 workshops on economy and investment, regional development, housing and urban construction, tourism and sports.

On the morning of February 19, president Chen Haosu and State Secretary Dr. Istvan Ujhelyi presided over a press conference, and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Chunxiang and Political Counsellor Liang Caide were present. During the conference, President Chen Haosu met with leaders of the Hungarian-Chinese Friendship Association and Hungarian Peoples Friendship Association, bringing closer cooperation between the Chinese and Hungarian friendship organizations.