Le Monde: The honeymoon between Orban and Trump is over. Although the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), organized by the American Conservative Union (ACU), was held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, on Thursday, May 29, Trump no longer publicly praises Hungarian Prime Minister Orban. For a long time, the relationship between Viktor Orban's Hungarian government and US President Trump has been described as idyllic. However, since the beginning of Trump's second term, the relationship between the two sides seems to have been tense. Despite Viktor Orban's close ties with the Trump-led American conservative leadership, and despite the fact that the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) organized by the American Conservative Union (ACU) was held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, on Thursday, May 29, there has been no announcement of any state visit between the leaders of the two countries. Le Monde wrote on Thursday that "the honeymoon between Orban and Trump is over." Disapproval of Chinese Investment The newspaper writes that one reason may be the disapproval of Chinese investment. Hungarian political scientist Balint Ruff said, "The Viktor Orban government has recently accepted a large amount of Chinese investment, which has greatly displeased the Americans." Viktor Orban hopes that through Musk, Budapest Telecom company 4iG can establish business ties with American companies like SpaceX, but so far it has not succeeded. Trump has stopped publicly praising the Hungarian prime minister. However, during his 2024 October campaign, Trump still described the Hungarian prime minister as "strong and wise," and regarded him as "one of the most resilient leaders in the world." Veto Power Le Monde stated that on the surface, the Orban government in Hungary and the Trump circles in America are very polite to each other, but behind the scenes, interactions between Hungary and the United States have become tense. According to Le Monde, a key point of friction between the Orban government in Hungary and the Trump administration in the United States is Hungary's voting issue regarding the extension of EU economic sanctions against Russia. In January this year, Viktor Orban threatened to use his veto power to block the extension of EU economic sanctions against Russia. In April, the EU again expressed concern about Hungary's lack of support for this economic weapon. On the American side, although relations between Washington and Moscow have eased since Trump returned to the White House, the US still hopes that the EU can extend the economic sanctions against Russia in order to continue to have this bargaining chip in the negotiation process to end the Ukraine war. Therefore, according to this US diplomat, great efforts were made by the US to dissuade the Hungarian government from using its veto power, communicating with the Hungarian government "at all levels." Budapest Aims for Bilateral Economic Agreement with the US Budapest places great importance on its "strategic partnership" with the US and is trying to protect its own interests. Balazs Orban, the political advisor of the Hungarian prime minister, stated that Hungary is attempting to negotiate a bilateral trade and economic agreement with the US to avoid new tariffs planned by the Trump administration on the EU. Similarly, Budapest is also striving to reach an agreement with the US to prevent Hungarian enterprises settled in the US from being double-taxed. However, progress has been slow. An anonymous US diplomat stationed in Budapest told Le Monde, "Some people around the Hungarian prime minister believe that once Trump takes office, everything will change quickly, but this is unrealistic." However, the US has also made some gestures towards Hungary. On April 15, the US decided to lift the economic sanctions on Antal Rogan, Chief of Staff to Viktor Orban and head of Hungary's intelligence services. This 50-year-old official had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department under the Biden administration due to multiple corruption charges in the last days of Biden's administration in January. A US diplomat stationed in Budapest said that the Hungarian government referred to this sanction imposed by the Biden administration as a "stab in the back." This was a "top priority" raised by the Orban government after Trump's election. The US diplomat also said, "Viktor Orban hopes that his public support from the US government will continue to be rewarded." However, progress on most issues has been very slow. The Trump administration has yet to appoint a new US ambassador to Hungary, while new ambassadors to European countries such as Italy or France have already been appointed. Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833508054175875/ Disclaimer: This article solely represents the views of the author.