Finance Minister Mihály Varga has met Lan Fo’an, his Chinese counterpart, in Beijing to discuss economic cooperation.
“Efforts in the past decade have resulted in making Hungary a bridge in economic cooperation between Europe and China,” Minister Varga said. China has now become Hungary’s largest investor outside Europe and “its most important trading partner”, Minister Varga said, adding that bilateral financial ties “are constantly strengthening”. According to 2023 data, China is Hungary’s 9th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade accounting for 4% of Hungary’s total turnover, the statement said. Among China’s investment projects in Hungary, Minister Varga mentioned the CATL project worth a total of 3,000 billion forints, Huayou Cobalt investing 520 billion forints and BYD using a budget of “several billion euros”. The two ministers agreed that building further infrastructure links between the two countries was necessary, with special regard to direct flights, Minister Varga said, noting a Tuesday agreement to launch a new cargo flight which could “further increase Hungary’s role as a logistics hub in central Europe”.