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Picture shows the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, collectively known as the Belt and Road initiative. (Xinhua)
BUDAPEST, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative is a new way of cooperation between China and other countries for mutual benefits, Imre Hamar, the Hungarian director of a newly-opened research center on the issue, has said.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Hamar, a sinologist who heads the Belt and Road research center affiliated to the Faculty of Humanities of Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, said the center was his brainchild which had won strong support from the university.
Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Liu Yunshan attended the unveiling ceremony of the center during a two-day official good-will visit to Hungary, which concluded Thursday.
The Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.
The Hungarian sinologist, who is also the Dean of the Chinese Department of the university, noted that the center would focus on studies on not only Chinese but also Arabic, Turkish and Mongolian languages.
"We hope experts from different aspects could gather together to do some research on the topic of 'Belt and Road'," Hamar added.
According to the sinologist, he is most keen on finding out "how different nationalities communicated with and learnt from each other on the ancient silk road. "
Hungary is the first among the European nations to join the Belt and Road Initiative since it was proposed in 2013, and a member of the "16+1" cooperation mechanism which groups 16 Central and Eastern European countries and China.
Moreover, analysts believe Hungary's Eastern Opening policy and the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative has generated plenty of pending issues and opportunities for improving bilateral ties.
According to Hamar, his university is joining hands with the University of Szeged to apply for research grant from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on a project of "Belt and Road" and the ancient silk road. Once approved, they will employ nearly ten experts, including archaeologists and linguists, to work on the program.
The Belt and Road Initiative is contemporary, while the silk road is of ancient history, both of which deserve in-depth research, the Hungarian expert on China noted.
In Hamar's words, Hungarian academics have always attached great importance to research on Central Asia, as its people hold the belief that they are originated from Asia, and many renowned experts in this field are based at his university.
The Hungarian researcher noted that they should make use of their talent advantages to make some contributions to the Belt and Road Initiative.
China and Hungary have seen sound development of bilateral ties in years. The Hungary-Serbia railway project becomes a symbolic one between the two countries as well as a landmark project for China-Europe cooperation.
In what way would China's Belt and Road Initiative affect Hungary? In the opinion of the sinologist, it would further enhance the political, economic, cultural and educational ties between Beijing and Budapest.
