BUDAPEST - Cooperation with China could help the European Union (EU) to rebuild and strengthen its economy, National Bank of Hungary Governor Gyorgy Matolcsy said on Monday.

The EU needs to build political, intellectual, financial and human bridges between the EU and China, he said at the Lamfalussy Conference in Budapest.

The EU, Matolcsy said, needs financial stability and job creation, but it can't achieve this with austerity measures.

He proposed strong bridges between the EU and Asia, with China at the center of cooperation and initiative.

Bank of China Chairman Tian Guoli discussed the various advantages of linking East Asia with the Middle East, Africa, and Europe at the conference.

Tian noted that the full connection of the European and Asian markets would create the world's longest economic corridor, for the two regions complemented one another.

Addressing the conference among the dignitaries, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called China "a fixed star" that would define the world economy for many decades to come.

Regarding Europe's ties with Russia, Orban said that sanctions against Russia had "failed," saying Europe should not ignore either the power or the opportunities inherent in Russia.