China will invest 3 billion euros in the Hungarian auto industry in the coming period, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday after talks with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing. This will further strengthen Hungary’s position as a leading investment destination in Central Europe, he added.
Szijjártó held talks with the CEOs of five major Chinese companies, four of which will implement investments in Hungary’s electric car industry, which supplies German manufacturers, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
The new investments will contribute significantly to Hungary’s ability to sustain its economic growth, the minister said, adding that
the projects would be launched in the interest of renewing the European automotive industry and meeting the demands of German manufacturers.
Chinese companies, he said, consider the country a top destination for their investments in Central Europe, noting that by the end of 2022, Hungary had the largest volume of Chinese investments in the region. “We want to continue to maintain this trend … so we will encourage additional investments from China, giving them as much support as possible,” he said.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, Szijjártó said that among the most negative consequences of the war was the re-emergence of blocs in the world that, he added, were against Hungary’s interests. “We want connections, not blocks, to be a basis on which the world will operate in the coming period… We believe that China’s global initiatives serve to achieve this goal, so we support them,” Szijjártó said , who emphasized the need to build EU-China cooperation based on trust and mutual benefits.
“We do not agree with the position that marks China as a threat. Our position is that there are enormous opportunities for cooperation with China as a partner.”
“For this reason, we would like to develop constant cooperation between the EU and China, and placing Chinese companies on an EU sanctions list or introducing restrictions on their exports would be intolerable,” said Szijjártó.
He noted that by 2022 China’s GDP expanded to a new record, surpassing the total GDP of the European Union, while creating 12 million urban jobs in a single year.
“These results indicate that Europe can only benefit from cooperation with China, which is why we call for strong cooperation based on mutual respect,” said the Hungarian foreign minister.
As we wrote today, the government wants to trust China’s Huawei for digitization, says the minister in Beijing.
Szijjártó: CATL battery plant encourages more Chinese investment in Hungary
The construction of the battery plant by China’s CATL in Debrecen, eastern Hungary, is also spurring other Chinese investments in the country, Minister Szijjártó said in Beijing on Monday.
This is helping to increase Hungary’s competitiveness in Europe, as Chinese investments bring cutting-edge technology to its new bases, Szijjarto said before a working dinner with CATL CEO Robin Zeng.
In addition, investments in the electric vehicle industry ensure that Hungary remains a leader in the fight against climate change, according to a ministry statement citing the minister.
“This is something everyone who feels responsible for the environment can be proud of,” Szijjarto said. He noted that 14 percent of the world’s harmful emissions are related to public road transport, adding that all ecological and climate goals would remain “a naïve illusion” without the transition to electric vehicles.
The minister said competition for Chinese investments in Europe remained fierce.
“It is clear that, in addition to the competitiveness of Hungary’s investment environment, the excellent political relations between Hungary and China also play an important role in us winning these investment offers over much stronger Western countries “. said Szijjarto.
Hungary and China can count on each other to raise the “voice of the peace camp”
Hungary and China can count on each other to “raise the voice of the peace camp” and the two countries are cooperating closely to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible and the start of peace talks, Minister Szijjártó said after meeting Qin Gang. his Chinese counterpart, Monday in Beijing.
The armed conflict in a neighboring country poses particularly serious challenges for Hungary, which is why Hungary “stands for peace” and wants the fighting to end as soon as possible, the Szijjártó ministry said.
“Unfortunately, war rhetoric is extremely strong globally, especially in the transatlantic world,” he said, adding that “therefore, we must constantly raise the voice of the peace camp” to make it clear that the global majority supports peace. Szijjarto said Hungary “attributes due importance to the role of the People’s Republic of China” in raising the voice of the peace camp and appreciates China’s recent efforts towards peace. “We really appreciate the peace plan that China has put forward,” the Hungarian foreign minister said. He welcomed the existence of this plan in itself, arguing that when it comes to Ukraine, in general, everyone talks only about war.
Szijjártó said he agreed with his colleague to cooperate closely to “amplify the voice of the peace camp”.
The foreign minister met China’s commerce minister for talks on Monday, as well as several business executives in Beijing, before traveling to Ningbo for the China CEEC Expo.
