China and Hungary have decided to elevate bilateral relations to all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era during talks between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest.

When meeting the press, President Xi called on both sides to further promote bilateral ties and cooperation. The two leaders witnessed the signing of 18 cooperation agreements covering areas such as trade and investment, nuclear energy and science and technology.

This is President Xi's first state visit to Hungary, the final stop of his three-nation European tour, which also took him to France and Serbia.

How significant is China and Hungary's "all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership"? What can we expect from further cooperation between the two nations?

Host Xu Yawen is joined by Mike Bastin, a China observer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton in the UK.