Hungary’s government has announced an investigation into a large foreign investment by Chinese automaker BYD, which was negotiated by former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó while he was in office.
Szijjártó’s announcement last week that he would take an executive position at BYD, the world’s top electric car maker, prompted accusations of a conflict of interest and criticism over his role in facilitating substantial government subsidies to the company while in office.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar told lawmakers on Monday that Szijjártó, a close ally of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, had helped BYD while he was in office ‘with hundreds of billions of forints in public money, diplomatic support, and state infrastructure.’
‘We will examine all the decisions, negotiations, and state commitments made by Péter Szijjártó that were related to the BYD Hungary investment,’ Magyar said on Monday.
The investigation will look into all subsidies, tax breaks, permits, environmental exemptions, and publicly-funded investments given to large multinational firms during Orbán’s tenure.
‘We will investigate who made these decisions, who prepared them, what professional warnings were ignored, and how much burden they left on Hungarian taxpayers, workers, local communities, and the environment,’ Magyar added.
Szijjártó has not responded to Magyar’s allegations of conflict of interest while he was in office. The former foreign minister has described his new job as a ‘prestigious’ opportunity to work for one of the ‘greatest success stories’ in the automotive industry.
While serving in government, Szijjártó was instrumental in securing foreign investments in Hungary from Chinese companies, including BYD, which received considerable state subsidies during his tenure.
In 2023, Szijjártó announced that BYD would open its first European factory in Hungary, allowing the conglomerate to skirt European Union import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles imposed to protect the continent’s domestic auto manufacturing sector.
In 2025, Szijjártó also announced that BYD would locate its European headquarters and a research and development center in Budapest and receive 20 billion forints ($63.7 million) in government assistance.
The investments were part of the Orbán government’s push to make Hungary a global hub of lithium-ion battery manufacturing, largely through attracting Chinese battery manufacturers who opened a series of plants across the country.
The moves led local residents, environmentalists, and opposition politicians to protest over fears the new industry would exacerbate existing environmental problems, hit the country’s precious water supplies, and further undermine its economy to China.
While foreign minister, Szijjártó also maintained close relations with Russia despite its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Breaking with nearly all of his EU counterparts, he frequently traveled to Moscow to negotiate agreements on purchasing Russian oil and gas and to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whom he referred to as his ‘friend.’
Szijjártó has dismissed the report that he made regular phone calls to Lavrov during high-level EU meetings with ‘live reports on what’s been discussed.’
During a government news conference last week, Magyar said that ‘as far as I know,’ an investigation had been launched concerning Szijjártó’s connections to the Russian government.
The investigation will also look into all subsidies, tax breaks, permits, environmental exemptions, and publicly-funded investments given to large multinational firms during Orbán’s tenure.
Timeline of Events
2023: BYD opens its first European factory in Hungary, allowing the conglomerate to skirt European Union import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles imposed to protect the continent’s domestic auto manufacturing sector.
2025: BYD locates its European headquarters and a research and development center in Budapest and receives 20 billion forints ($63.7 million) in government assistance.
2026: Szijjártó announces that he will take an executive position at BYD, prompting accusations of a conflict of interest and criticism over his role in facilitating substantial government subsidies to the company while in office.
Investigation
The investigation will examine all the decisions, negotiations, and state commitments made by Szijjártó that were related to the BYD Hungary investment.
The investigation will look into all subsidies, tax breaks, permits, environmental exemptions, and publicly-funded investments given to large multinational firms during Orbán’s tenure.
The investigation will also investigate who made these decisions, who prepared them, what professional warnings were ignored, and how much burden they left on Hungarian taxpayers, workers, local communities, and the environment.
