[By Guancha Observer Network, Liu Chenghui]

US politicians have repeatedly incited Hungary to restrict trade relations with China, causing dissatisfaction among Hungarian officials.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasized in a recent interview that China has made massive investments in Hungary, and the US cannot demand that Hungary refrain from trading with China while conducting its own trade with China.

On June 13, the official YouTube channel of Viktor Orbán released the aforementioned interview content. Orbán told the host: "China has made many investments in Hungary, and we are also calling on the United States (to invest in Hungary), but the investment from the United States is very limited."

"Trade benefits us, but the US should not try to tell us that we should not develop trade with China, especially when you yourselves are trading with China."

He added: "What I mean is that you should also develop trade with us, providing good job opportunities like China does for us."

"I believe we should separate national security, military matters from commerce, trade, and economy," Orbán emphasized. Hungary's official policy is to "look east and west," welcoming investments from both the West and the East.

He said: "Hungary has a vast industrial base, so in our strategy, Hungary is an ideal meeting point for Western and Eastern enterprises to invest. They can cooperate well here, which is a huge advantage we do not want to give up."

Video footage of Orbán's interview

According to the Budapest Times on June 16, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated on social media that the trade agreement between China and the US is "good news" for Hungary. These two countries are Hungary's largest trade partners and investors outside the EU, while the EU's situation is worrying.

"This puts Brussels in an awkward position – when the US and China reach an agreement, the EU isolates itself from key participants in the global economy," Szijjártó said. "The EU has yet to reach a tariff agreement with the US, yet it imposes tariffs on China's auto industry and sanctions Russia, which has caused a sharp decline in Europe's competitiveness."

Szijjártó also stated: "The damage caused by Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission to the European economy is more severe than any tariff."

This year, US politicians have repeatedly incited Hungary to rid itself of dependence on China.

On April 15, Robert Palladino, the acting US ambassador to Hungary, said at a meeting in Budapest: "President Trump has been clear that China poses a strategic challenge to the US and our allies, and these challenges require vigilance, transparency, and unity."

Just ten days later, Donald Trump Jr. visited Budapest, hyping up the so-called "China challenge surpasses Russia," urging Hungary to cooperate with the US to "reduce risks," and "breaking away from dependence on China is the first step."

However, even Bloomberg admitted that such rhetoric might make Eastern European countries like Hungary feel uncomfortable because these countries have opened their doors to Chinese investments.

The report said that Hungary has attracted billions of dollars in Chinese investments, including in the battery and electric vehicle industries. A Chinese car company plans to build a factory in southern Hungary. Hungary and Serbia are also constructing a freight line from Budapest to Belgrade as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

In January this year, Szijjártó revealed that China was Hungary's largest foreign investor in 2024, accounting for nearly half of the total annual investment. In 2023, China was also Hungary's largest trade partner outside the EU, with bilateral trade reaching $14.5 billion. The US-Hungary trade volume for the same year was approximately $13.9 billion.

According to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, China is Hungary's largest trade partner outside Europe, and Hungary is one of China's main trade partners in Central and Eastern Europe. The total bilateral trade volume in 2024 was about $16.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.6%. Among them, China's exports to Hungary were approximately $11.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 16.5%; imports from Hungary were approximately $4.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%.

Orbán previously expressed dissatisfaction with US investments in interviews with the media.

In the February edition of "Good Morning Hungary," he said: "During the Democratic administration, China's investment in Hungary exceeded that of the US, which is unprecedented. This is certainly very good. But where did the US investment go? We need it, so we hope this agreement will address this issue."

On February 7, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung also published a long interview with Orbán. When asked if he worries about being caught between pressures from all sides while trying to maintain good relations with the West, China, and Russia, he firmly denied it.

Orbán said he believes that an agreement can be reached between the US and China, so maintaining good relations with both is not a problem.

On May 15, the Hungarian government signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, at the Prime Minister's Office in Hungary. BYD officially announced the establishment of its European headquarters and a new European research and development center in Budapest.

Orbán stated at the press conference after the signing of the agreement that the world is in a period of transformation, with new technologies, new consumer demands, and new manufacturers emerging constantly. China leads in electric vehicle technology, and cooperating with China will help lead Hungary into the era of new electric vehicle technology.

He said that in recent years, China has become Hungary's largest source of foreign investment multiple times. "This means that Chinese investment has become an important, if not indispensable, engine for Hungary's economic growth."

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This article is an exclusive contribution from the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7516466121348792859/

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