During his visit to Beijing, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto spoke with former Chinese trade minister and president, and announced that Hungary will receive 6 trillion forints (15.3 billion euros) of Chinese investment, mainly in the construction of new battery factories. He said it is in progress. Mr. Zhong Shan, Financial and Economic Committee of the National People’s Congress.
These projects will create 25,000 new jobs, he added.
Hungary is currently a major investment destination for Chinese companies in Europe, with a number of investments targeting the battery industry. As of the end of 2023, Hungary’s EV battery production capacity will be the third largest in the world, and is expected to increase from the current 50 GWh per year to 150 GWh by 2025.
The country is the world’s fifth largest exporter of EV batteries, and sector leader CATL is investing 7.34 billion euros to build a 100GWh battery factory in Debrecen, the industrial center in eastern Romania. It is expected to expand in the next few years. border.
Szijjarto pointed out that in addition to Germany, China currently has the greatest influence on the output of the Hungarian economy.
Trade between the two countries exceeded $10 billion last year and is expected to reach that level by 2024. However, trade value fell from $12 billion in 2021.
Later that day, Hungary’s top diplomat visited the headquarters of Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors in Baoding.
After his visit, he said that Hungary can be at the forefront of technological change thanks to close economic and investment cooperation with China.
Szijjarto last visited China in October, when he met with BYD founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu in Shenzhen. A few weeks later, the world’s leading new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer announced that it would invest an estimated €5 billion to build its first European production facility in southern Hungary, near the Serbian border.
Hungary’s top diplomat announced the launch of a new direct flight between Budapest and Xi’an during a summer visit to Beijing. Direct flights are already in operation between Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Ningbo, and direct flights between the capital and Guangzhou are scheduled to begin in June.
The new destination will increase the number of flights between the two countries to 17 weekly flights, the highest in the region, it added. Xi’an, 900 kilometers southwest of Beijing and with a population of 13 million, is an important industrial and financial center, Szijjarto said.
Hungary’s top diplomat is scheduled to meet with diplomats on Wednesday.
