On January 29, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto at the latter's request.

Szijjarto said, Hungary attaches great importance to developing its relations with China. The country is ready to deepen practical cooperation with China in various fields, and play an active role in cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) and the relations between European Union (EU) and China. Hungary has approved the authorization of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use and reached agreement with Chinese companies on purchasing vaccines. Chinese vaccines will help Hungary save more lives and accelerate the resumption of work and production as well as economic recovery. Hungary thanks China for its strong support in vaccine cooperation, and hopes that China will speed up the approval process to facilitate Hungary's purchase of vaccines in China.

Wang Yi said, he is glad to know that Hungary has approved import of Chinese vaccines. China attaches great importance to Hungary's urgent desire to strengthen vaccine cooperation with China. Hungary's will to purchase Chinese vaccines demonstrates its recognition of and trust in the safety and effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine, and attests to the fine tradition of the two countries helping each other in times of difficulty. China will, based on China-Hungary comprehensive strategic partnership, facilitate Chinese enterprises' export of the first batch of vaccines to Hungary. He believes that with the joint efforts of the two sides, the vaccine cooperation will surely become an upgraded version of the anti-pandemic cooperation between the two countries.

Wang Yi said, the mutual beneficial cooperation between China and Hungary has maintained a sound momentum while overcoming the impact of the pandemic. In 2020, the volume of bilateral trade bucked the trend and increased by over 14 percent year-on-year, which is a hard-won achievement. At the 3rd China International Import Expo last year, among all CEECs, Hungary reached the highest volume of transactions with China. China will, as always, support bilateral cooperation in various fields, and is pleased to see more Chinese enterprises invest and develop businesses in Hungary. China also hopes that Hungary will continue playing a constructive role in pushing forward China-CEEC cooperation and China-EU relations.