With both countries having shown resilience in food supply despite the upward trend in global hunger over the past decade, China and Hungary have stepped up agricultural research ties and food trade investment.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On Jan 24, Ma Youxiang, a vice-minister of agriculture and rural affairs, met Minister of Agriculture of Hungary Istvan Nagy in Budapest, the Hungarian capital.

They agreed to further deepen collaboration in agriculture through the China-Hungary Agricultural Science and Technology Cooperation Center, which was inaugurated in Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 2012.

According to a news release published by Ma's administration, the Chinese vice-minister said he hoped the two sides could strengthen exchanges of germ plasm of farm animals and food crops — the genetic resources accounting for desirable traits such as higher meat output and drought resistance — through the center, and work together on farm produce deep-processing technologies.

The vice-minister said China is seeking to work with Hungary on bee farming and is willing to create more platforms to facilitate investment and exchanges at the corporate level.

"Bilateral agricultural cooperation has provided impetus for improving China-Hungary relations," Ma said.

The release said Nagy spoke highly of food-related cooperation between the two countries and expressed a wish to deepen the ties for more "practical results".

The decision to create the center was agreed upon at a meeting in 2011, when the then-vice-minister of agriculture Niu Dun met with a delegation from Hungary in Beijing.

Both sides agreed to facilitate scientist exchanges and conduct various forms of personnel training through the center.

The center is tasked with the introduction and exchange of high-quality local resources of crops and poultry; research on breeding high-quality stress-resistant varieties and cultivation techniques; and research on biological control, microbiology, agricultural information technology, and environmentally friendly plant protection technologies.

Hungary's agricultural area covers about 57 percent of its land mass.

Once a traditional agrarian country, Hungary joined the European Union two decades ago, providing a boon to modernize its agriculture.

Currently, the proportion of agriculture that contributes to the country's GDP has decreased to around 3 to 4 percent, according to government data.

Hungary's agriculture has demonstrated resilience in the face of the disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with its current grain output being enough to feed over 20 million people — twice its population.

The agricultural exchange forms part of a broader initiative between the two nations to enhance innovation cooperation, a move deemed mutually advantageous by experts.

Esztella Fazekas, a Budapest-based expert at the Chinese-Hungarian Technology Transfer Center, said in a research paper in 2020 that China's investments in domestic innovation, capacity and capability position it favorably to surpass the United States and Europe in the medium to long term.

"Diversifying Hungary's partner base in research, development and innovation, strengthening ties with China, while maintaining EU relations will allow Hungary to remain competitive, access the newest technology trends, elevate the country's negotiating power and revitalize its industries," she concluded.