China Is now the Largest Foreign Investor in the Country

Chinese BYD bus factory in Komárom (northwestern Hungary, at the border with Slovakia)

While 30 years ago a few buffets and second-hand clothing dealers represented the Chinese economic sector in the country, today Hungary’s largest greenfield investments are now linked to China. The country, thus, has now become Hungary’s largest foreign investor, the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Fujian Investment Forum in Gödöllő, Levente Magyar pointed out that the visit of a delegation from the southeastern Chinese province to the event fits into “an invisible series.” As he noted, high-level visits such as the arrival of the Chinese president or the provincial governor in Hungary are a sign of the intensive contacts. These diplomatic visits show the privileged role that the Chinese relationship plays in Hungary’s foreign policy, and perhaps the reverse is also true, the State Secretary said.

He stressed that Hungary and China have become privileged partners, which is now confirmed by a formal strategic partnership agreement. He added that this was not a matter of course, but the result of decades of hard work on the part of both China and Hungary. The hard work has paid off, underlined Levente Magyar.

He noted that the world has changed a lot in a few decades in terms of the presence of the Chinese economy in Hungary, and this process has gone hand in hand with China’s emergence as a leading geopolitical and global economic player. He added:

These geopolitical and global economic changes have also been reflected in Hungary, that has opened its doors to the Chinese economy.”

The State Secretary also added that China’s most outstanding companies are arriving in Hungary one after the other through the gateways.

He pointed out that the latest direct flight between Hungary and China, connecting Budapest and Guangzhou, had just started on Thursday. Additional flights will be launched in the coming weeks, leading to “seven destinations within China via Budapest.”

A few years ago, it was a struggle to keep the Beijing-Shanghai lines open, but this change now says everything about tourism, the economy, the intensity of links and the expansion of connections. “Fujian Province would be an economic powerhouse in its own right, therefore it is an honor to have the delegation at the Forum,” concluded Levente Magyar.

Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook / Magyarbusz