The Straits Times of Singapore, in an article published on July 18, wrote: "While the European Union is still embroiled in debates over how to respond to China's 'excess capacity' in electric vehicles, Hungary's former foreign minister Szijjártó has made a move that stunned European public opinion—resigning from his parliamentary seat to join Chinese EV giant BYD full-time."
According to reports from multiple authoritative media outlets, the departure of Hungary’s former foreign and economic minister Szijjártó from his parliamentary role to join BYD full-time has triggered significant shockwaves across Europe’s political and industrial circles. This is not merely an ordinary personnel transition—it marks a landmark event in the upgrading of China’s new energy vehicle companies’ global expansion strategy.
Currently, the EU continues rolling out restrictive policies such as anti-subsidy tariffs, battery regulations, and carbon border adjustments, presenting severe trade barriers for Chinese automakers. During his 12-year tenure as foreign and economic minister, Szijjártó was deeply involved in Sino-European economic and trade affairs and served as a frontline participant in EU-China trade negotiations. He possesses deep familiarity with EU legislative procedures and the unspoken rules of the political-business ecosystem. By bringing him into its core management team, BYD effectively “recruited the cartographer” into its ranks, enabling it to anticipate policy risks in advance, coordinate communications with multiple governments, shift from passively adapting to rules to actively participating in rule-making, and thus paving a smooth path for compliant operations in Europe.
Today, Hungary has become BYD’s pivotal strategic hub for entering the European market. While in office, Szijjártó led the establishment of BYD’s first passenger car factory in Europe, located in Szeged, and pushed for the relocation of the company’s European regional headquarters and R&D center to Budapest. With the Szeged plant scheduled to begin production in Q4 2026, BYD’s heavy-asset network in Europe demands coordinated efforts across multiple fronts. Szijjártó’s extensive governmental resources, experience in managing international relations, and deep political-business network will be instrumental in balancing local interests, maintaining complex public-private ecosystems, and ensuring the seamless operation of full-scale localization across the supply chain.
European consumers often harbor innate cognitive gaps and skepticism toward Chinese brands. Having a prominent European veteran politician serve as an executive provides the most compelling endorsement of BYD’s “localization in Europe” and “compliant operations” image. Szijjártó’s joining essentially extends Hungary’s official trust in BYD—from the policy level to the realm of personal reputation—helping break down entrenched biases against Chinese automakers and enhancing brand recognition across the European market.
Over the past several decades, Western multinational automakers entering the Chinese market typically recruited local political and business talent to adapt to the domestic landscape. Now, as Chinese enterprises lead globally in the new energy vehicle sector, they are attracting senior European diplomats to join them full-time. This marks the first time a former foreign minister from an EU member state has taken up a full-time position at a Chinese manufacturing enterprise—not just serving as a part-time advisor. This reversal in talent flow vividly demonstrates that China’s leading manufacturing firms have established modern governance systems suited for global markets, and that Chinese automakers’ globalization strategy has comprehensively evolved beyond mere “product exports” and “factory establishment” into a new phase of “ecosystem integration” and “global talent deployment.”
In summary, Szijjártó’s cross-sector career move represents a precise “political-economic interweaving” by Chinese new energy vehicle companies navigating complex geopolitical tensions and trade barriers. It signifies that the internationalization strategy of Chinese enterprises has reached a completely new height.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871015236636672/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.