Last year, 44% of all Chinese investments in Europe flowed into Hungary, making Hungary the top destination of Chinese capital, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjato said in discussions with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on November 26.

Both sides highlighted the historic significance of the elevation of bilateral ties to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era in May when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Hungary.

There are over HUF4 trillion (€10bn) worth of Chinese projects currently underway in Hungary, creating tens of thousands of jobs and forming a foundation for future economic growth, he added, highlighting the government’s policy of economic neutrality.

Szijjarto also announced new investments by Chinese companies. Wasion Holdings Limited, a producer of smart electricity makers, will set up a HUF4bn R&D and production base north of Budapest in a brownfield investment.

Zhejiang will start mass production of gears and axles for the automotive industry at its new factory in the eastern part of the country from a HUF40bn investment.

Between 2017 and 2021, the country received less than 1% of all Chinese investment in Europe, but Chinese investment activity picked up after 2022 when the world's largest EV battery manufacturer CATL announced it would build a €7.4bn factory in eastern Hungary. This ranks as the largest Chinese greenfield investment not only in Hungary but also in Europe.

Hungary was the first European country to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), one of the hallmark projects of which is the 350‑km high-speed railway between Budapest and the Serbian capital Belgrade. Chinese FDI investments have seen an upswing since the end of the pandemic.

China Construction Bank (CCB), the world’s second-largest bank in assets, opened a new branch in April. Hungary is home to the first renminbi (RMB) clearing centre in CEE and the Bank of China also established its branch in Budapest in the mid-2010s.

Szijjarto called for a pragmatic approach to EU-China relations, criticizing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles as harmful to Europe’s competitiveness. Hungary positions itself as a manufacturing hub for both Eastern and Western automotive companies and given its dependence on the EV automotive ecosystem, it sees the proposed tariffs as a threat to its economic strategy.

Szijjarto also pointed to expanding tourism ties, with Chinese visitor numbers already surpassing pre-pandemic levels, prompting talks to increase weekly flights between Chinese cities and Budapest.