The EU’s External Relations: the Case of BRIC Countries with Special Emphasis on China

The BRIC countries, and especially China, have significantly increased their share in the world economy. The Chinese model, with its special approach to development, can be seen as an accelerated version of the Japanese one, which has brought enormous success in Japan, and in the Tiger economies. In the past two decades China has become the EU’s most important trading partner, and their relationship is getting more and more symmetric. Although there are areas where they have different approaches, there are much more issues with common interests, and room for cooperation. For Hungary China has been a special partner for decades. After the fall of communism the ties became weaker, and Hungary practically lost almost all of its previous advantage. The EU accession, however, opened up new possibilities, and new channels for the country, to pursue its interests, and regain at least some of its privileged status.