Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told journalists that the building of the new plant was just a rumor.Continue reading
The European Union should choose the path of civilized cooperation with China instead of hostility, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó at the project announcement of the Chinese-owned Wasion Holdings Limited.
The minister noted that the company is setting up its sixth global research and development and production facility in Gödöllő (Pest County), where it will produce one million smart electricity meters a year from 2025. The Hungarian state will provide HUF 390 million (EUR 1 million) in subsidies for the brownfield investment, helping to create 300 new jobs. In his speech, the minister stressed that
the project will also help to break export records, as the company will export its products to fifty countries and promote a dimensional shift in the domestic economy.
He added that the Hungarian-Chinese cooperation based on mutual respect has already borne fruit, as the East Asian country’s companies are bringing many modern investments to Hungary, creating many jobs and helping sustain economic growth.
The minister also pointed out that the global economy had been turned upside down in recent years, and that the growth model in Europe, based on a combination of advanced Western technologies and cheap Eastern raw materials, had been lost. “Unfortunately, even this is not enough for Western European politicians. Some are already calling for a division of East and West into blocs and for the Chinese and European economies to be isolated from each other. We think that the real danger, the real risk to the world is bloc formation,” he warned. Instead, connectivity is desirable, and the next period should be about global connectivity, the minister added.
He pointed out that
the government’s economic policy strategy is largely based on the country being a meeting point for civilized cooperation between East and West.
He said that this had proved successful so far and that this position was a guarantee for economic growth. “Today, Hungary has become the number one investment destination for Chinese companies in Central Europe. An increasing number of Chinese companies are choosing Hungary as a place to invest,” he emphasized.
He underlined that the reason is, on the one hand, that Hungary’s investment promotion system is the best in Europe, and on the other hand, the government has never discriminated against investors on the basis of their country of origin, although there has been a lot of pressure in recent years to reject Chinese companies. “We have always resisted this pressure and will continue to do so. For us, only the national interest counts in the implementation of economic policy.” Minister Szijjártó concluded: “The entire European economic community should choose the path of civilized cooperation with the People’s Republic of China instead of hostility. (…) We therefore see cooperation with China not as a risk, not as a threat, but as a great opportunity and chance.”
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/Council of the European Union