Hungary’s former foreign minister quits parliament for Chinese automaker BYD, sparking backlash

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s former foreign minister resigned from his parliamentary seat on Wednesday to join Chinese automaker BYD, prompting criticism over his role in facilitating substantial government subsidies to the company while in office.

Péter Szijjártó was Hungary’s top diplomat for nearly 12 years in the government of former populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He was relieved from his post after Péter Magyar’s pro-European Tisza party won a landslide election in April, but remained a member of parliament.

Magyar accused him on social media of representing “foreign interests.”

The former lawmaker wrote on Facebook that he had received “a highly prestigious offer” from the world’s top electric carmaker “to fill an international position.”

“BYD is one of the greatest success stories in the automotive industry over the past 20 years,” Szijjártó wrote. “Starting today, I will continue my work as the executive responsible for the group’s external relations and the development of new business lines.”

Szijjártó, who had been an MP since 2002, had missed most parliamentary votes since the April election and rarely appeared in public or posted on social media.

While serving in government, Szijjártó was instrumental in securing foreign investments in Hungary from Chinese companies, including his now-employer 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.

Szijjártó played a central role in talks with BYD on bringing the plant to Hungary and said at the time that the decision came after 224 rounds of negotiations between the company and Hungary’s government.

He called the project “one of the largest investments in Hungarian economic history,” saying the government would provide financial incentives to BYD for building the plant, which have not been disclosed.

In 2025, Szijjártó also announced 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.

While in office, Szijjártó and Orbán opposed EU tariffs on Chinese products, sought major investment from Beijing and opened a series of Chinese EV battery manufacturing plants across the country. Orbán's government and Beijing also jointly developed a rail corridor between Hungary and Serbia that is part of China’s “Belt and Road” global trade initiative.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar wrote on social media Wednesday that Szijjártó had “long represented foreign interests” and pointed out that he had “previously lobbied to secure massive Hungarian state subsidies” for BYD.

“In hindsight, it may now become clear even to Fidesz voters whose interests the former foreign minister of the failed Orbán government represented in connection with the ... investments in the battery and automotive industries,” Magyar wrote.

While foreign minister, Szijjártó maintained close relations with Russia despite its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 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 was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship in 2021 by President Vladimir Putin, one of the highest state honors a foreign citizen can receive.

He was embroiled in controversy during Hungary's 2026 election campaign when the Washington Post reported that he made regular phone calls to Lavrov during high-level EU meetings with “live reports on what’s been discussed.”

Szijjártó dismissed the report while acknowledging that he conferred with Lavrov before and after EU foreign minister meetings about their agenda and decisions.

In March, Orbán's government filed espionage charges against a prominent Hungarian investigative journalist for activities he engaged in while investigating Szijjártó's communications with Lavrov. Those charges were dropped after Hungary's new government took office.

FILE - The then-Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto holds a press conference following a cabinet meeting in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Boglarka Bodnar/MTI via AP, File)

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Slow-moving storms with heavy rain were drenching a large swath of South Texas on Wednesday, spawning a tornado in San Antonio a day after downpours washed out roads and farmland and led to dozens of high-water rescues in the region.

The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in the northwestern part of San Antonio near Interstate 10. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a small twister. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Warnings of potentially dangerous flash flooding, meanwhile, were posted in some areas as the deluge was expected to continue through Thursday evening. The weather service said 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain was possible in some areas by the time the storms move out.

There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the flooding.

The highest rainfall totals so far have been in Uvalde County — up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) in some areas, the weather service said. Uvalde was blanketed by dark clouds on Wednesday morning, the landscape lit at times with lightning far above. The typically calm Leona River was swollen and brown waters poured over some low bridges.

Debris, including branches and grass, plastic bags and a cactus, covered the bank from the day earlier, when the river was several feet higher.

The night had brought booming thunder through a steady rain, swelling the rivers and creeks that ran through or just around the town. The rain would abate, then pummel the small town with heavy drops, before lifting again.

Flash flood warnings Wednesday morning also covered parts of Kerr County, where catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River last year killed more than 100 people, Kerr County officials said they have been in contact with summer camps and retreat centers where river flooding could happen.

Forecasters warned that hilly terrain in some parts of the region could be especially vulnerable to heavy rain.

“This is called a typical mid-summer tropical weather pattern that happens in Texas,” said Monte Oaks, a meteorologist with the weather service. “About once every five years, we’ll get socked in with a daily recurrence of heavy rain chances that’s generally produced by a stagnant kind of a pattern with a low-pressure center that’s just not moving very fast.”

Oaks said the rain is being fueled with tropical moisture, mostly from the Gulf of Mexico and some from the Pacific Ocean.

The highest level of concern for potentially dangerous flooding Wednesday was for areas west of San Antonio and north of Route 90, he said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.

Authorities posted videos on Tuesday showing a rescue crew in a boat navigating flooded streets and a vehicle being swept away by fast-moving waters. Five people were rescued by the Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue Team and four were rescued by a local game warden, said Maggie Berger, a Texas Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman.

The weather service said the city of Uvalde has been hardest hit. Officials there said there had been at least two dozen water rescues, and a local event center was open for anyone displaced by flooding. In Sabinal, officials were also making plans for a shelter.

Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

In this handout photo provided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, game wardens walk through high waters from heavy rains in Uvalde County, Texas, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department via AP)