Viktor Orbán has turned Hungary into the main home for Chinese capital in Europe, capturing more than a quarter of all Chinese investment coming into the continent over the past two years.
The outsized share, including a wave of investment into EV factories, has been a fillip to an otherwise struggling Hungarian economy hit by the EU withholding about €20bn of funding over rule of law concerns.
Orbán’s challenge now is pulling off the diplomatic gymnastics required to simultaneously remain an ally to Xi Jinping and Donald Trump’s incoming administration of China hawks, while managing the threat of a chronic decline in EU funds.
Even against the backdrop of his rule of law dispute with Brussels, Orbán has exacerbated tensions with other EU capitals by maintaining strong diplomatic ties with both Beijing and Moscow.
Márton Nagy, economy minister and a former adviser to prime minister Orbán, told the Financial Times that China’s investments had helped maintain the country’s car industry as “a very strong core” of its economy, which is eventually expected to account for almost a third of GDP.
I guess we’ll just have to call it Hong Gary then.