cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10154882

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has accused former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó of moving directly from public office to a Chinese company that received extensive state support while Viktor Orbán’s government was in power.

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Hungary’s political realignment has gathered pace after Péter Szijjártó resigned his parliamentary mandate to take a senior international position with Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD.

Szijjártó, who served as foreign minister for almost 12 years under former prime minister Viktor Orbán [announced] his departure from parliament and appointment by BYD on Wednesday.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar responded by claiming that the “complete disintegration” of the formerly governing Fidesz party was continuing at an accelerating rate.

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Magyar accused Szijjártó of having represented foreign interests while serving in government and of helping BYD obtain substantial Hungarian state subsidies.

“Péter Szijjártó, the former foreign minister, who previously represented foreign interests, officially announced today that he is leaving politics and will become an executive at the Chinese company for which he had previously secured enormous Hungarian state subsidies,” Magyar wrote.

“The difference compared with the previous situation will be that from now on, Péter Szijjártó will be paid for the same ‘work’ not by the Hungarian people, but by his actual employer.”

Magyar’s description of Szijjártó as having represented foreign interests is a political allegation. However, the former minister played a central role in attracting Chinese investment to Hungary and publicly promoted BYD’s expansion in the country.

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BYD announced in December 2023 that it had selected Szeged, in southern Hungary, as the location for its first European passenger-car manufacturing plant. The project became one of the flagship investments secured under Orbán’s policy of strengthening economic relations with China.

Szijjártó’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was directly involved in the negotiations. The ministry also controlled Hungary’s investment-promotion system and announced the incentives offered to foreign companies.

In 2025, Szijjártó confirmed that the government would provide 20 billion forints, then worth about $64 million, to support BYD’s new European business and development centre in Budapest. The wider project was valued at approximately 100 billion forints and was expected to create around 2,000 jobs.

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The company’s Hungarian expansion attracted attention in Brussels. The European Commission opened an examination of subsidies connected to BYD’s European operations under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which is intended to identify state support from non-EU countries that may distort competition within the single market.

Szijjártó’s decision to join the company has consequently prompted questions over the movement of senior politicians into businesses that benefited from policies or public funding for which they had responsibility.

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Szijjártó’s move is also likely to maintain scrutiny of the relationship between the former government and Chinese investors. His new position places one of the principal architects of Hungary’s China policy inside one of the largest companies to have benefited from that policy.

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