Hungary launches investigation into former foreign minister's appointment at Chinese BYD Auto Group

The Hungarian government announced on Monday that it would launch an investigation into a major foreign investment project by Chinese automaker BYD. The project was facilitated by Hungary’s former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó, who resigned from his parliamentary seat last week.

According to the Associated Press, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told lawmakers on Monday that during his tenure, Szijjártó—Orbán’s close ally—had provided BYD with "tens of billions of forints in public funding, diplomatic support, and national infrastructure."

The prime minister stated, "We will examine all decisions, negotiations, and national commitments made by Péter Szijjártó regarding BYD’s investment in Hungary." He added that the investigation would also review all subsidies, tax reductions, licenses, environmental exemptions, and public funding investments granted to large multinational corporations during Orbán’s administration.

He further said: "We will investigate who made these decisions, who prepared them, and which professional warnings were ignored..."

Szijjártó served as Hungary’s foreign minister from 2014 until May this year, when Orbán stepped down following a crushing defeat in the general election.

Neither Szijjártó nor BYD has responded to allegations raised by the Hungarian daily newspaper regarding potential conflicts of interest during Szijjártó’s time in office.

In 2023, Szijjártó announced that BYD would open its first European factory in Hungary, enabling the automaker to circumvent EU tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicles to protect Europe’s domestic auto industry.

In 2025, Szijjártó also announced that BYD would locate its European headquarters and R&D center in Budapest, receiving 20 billion forints (US$63.7 million) in government aid.

These investments are part of Orbán’s government strategy to position Hungary as a global hub for lithium-ion battery manufacturing, primarily achieved by attracting Chinese battery manufacturers to establish a series of factories across the country.

Source: rfi

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1871310840233348/

Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author