The European Union (EU) should avoid politicizing economic issues related to China, particularly in the electric vehicle sector, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto Peter in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Szijjarto Peter expressed opposition to any proposal that could harm cooperation between China and the EU, including Hungary.
"We will go against any kind of proposal which would harm or restrict the European-Chinese, including the Hungarian-Chinese, cooperation. You can absolutely take it for granted, and I do hope that most of the European countries will be able to de-politicize and de-ideologize this question. I really do hope it. And once they are ready to do so, once they are able to do so, then I’m pretty sure that such kind of a proposal will fail, because it has to fail. Otherwise, it will further harm the European economy," said Peter.
Szijjarto also highlighted Hungary's pivotal role in the global shift from combustion engines to electric vehicles, noting its strategic partnerships with major automakers and battery producers.
"The combustion engines will be replaced by electric cars, and we are one of the three countries in the world. The other two are China and Germany. While the top premium car makers Audi, BMW and Mercedes are present, one of the three countries in the world. And all of them have deployed the heart of their electromobility strategies to Hungary," said Peter.
The minister also emphasized Hungary's emerging prominence in the electric battery sector, driven by significant investments from Eastern companies, particularly from China. He said he looks forward to the potential impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Hungary's electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry.
"On the other hand, we all know that the electric batteries which are kind of essential from the perspective of electric cars, right? are being produced by Eastern companies. The top ten global companies are all Easterners. There is one Japanese, three Koreans and six including the biggest one from China. And five of the top ten, two Koreans and three Chinese, including the number one, have committed themselves to invest and to operate in Hungary. So currently we are number four in the world when it comes to the capacity of manufacturing electric batteries. And once these investments by the Chinese companies are complete in the first quarter of 2025, we will be number two in the world. Number two, a country of only 10 million people. So this is an outcome from the Belt and Road Initiative. This is an outcome of the pragmatic Chinese-Hungarian cooperation," said Peter.
EU should avoid politicizing economic issues related to China: Hungarian FM
