Government: Hungary won’t choose sides between Asia and the West

Adopting a policy of economic neutrality, Hungary’s government will do everything in its power to protect the country’s economy from the negative consequences of Europe’s “running the gauntlet”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at the AFCA Financial Summit Forum in Budapest on Monday.

Szijjártó said efforts to divide the world into blocs again were in “stark opposition” to Hungary’s interests, as an export-oriented economy benefitting from its geographical location. He added that the European Union’s poor economic performance was proof that economic isolation could only hurt the community.

He called the EU’s China strategy a “total failure” and said leaders in Brussels had failed to grasp the scale of opportunity presented by a “cultured, civilised” cooperation with China. He added that the success of key European industries was conditional on cooperation with China.

Szijjártó said United States President Donald Trump had “wiped the floor” with the European Commission president in negotiations over tariffs that had reduced the tariffs Americans pay from 10pc to zero, while raising Europeans’ from 2-3pc to 15pc.

Szijjártó noted that Hungary had become a “meeting point” for companies from the East and the West and said the country would not choose between partners from Asia or the West when it came to investment, trade or energy security. “We will work together at the same time with our partners from East and West,” he added.

He said Chinese investors had brought the most FDI to Hungary in 2020, 2023 and 2024, adding that 34pc of all Chinese investment in Europe had come to Hungary in 2024.

Read more investment-related news on Daily News Hungary.

Read also:

• Extraordinary parliament session collapses after Fidesz no-show
• Hungary signs deal with neighbours to attract more investment