“The establishment of the Confucius Institute at Széchenyi University in Győr shows that Hungary has a seat at the table when the new world order is being shaped.” Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said, adding with a pointed remark that “Europe is not sitting at that table”.
He said every Confucius Institute is proof of the mutual respect between Hungary and China, helping to deepen cooperation and strengthen people‑to‑people relations. Hungary now hosts the highest number of Confucius Institutes in central Europe, with Széchenyi University entering into cooperation with Jiaxing University. Both institutions focus primarily on engineering and natural sciences, as well as close links with industrial companies.
The minister once again criticised what he described as the misguided course of the European Commission, which he said is trapped in an ideological cage and isolating the EU internationally. By contrast, Hungary under the Orbán government is pursuing a foreign policy strategy aimed at ensuring that all major powers have an interest in Hungary’s success. “Today there is only one prime minister in Europe who maintains a respectful dialogue with Washington, Moscow and Beijing,” Szijjártó said, summarising what he called the success of this strategy.
In the emerging new world order, China is a key player in every respect, he said. Hungary responded to the East’s growing global role with its “opening to the East” policy launched in 2010, which led to the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. “We see cooperation with China as a major opportunity from which we can benefit enormously. This is where we differ from the so‑called EU mainstream, which portrays China as a systemic rival,” Szijjártó said.
Hungary is focusing on connectivity and has become an important meeting point for companies from East and West, as it is the only country in Europe able to facilitate smooth cooperation between these players. Half of the world’s largest Asian battery manufacturers have settled in Hungary, and the country has become China’s leading investment destination in Europe. In 2025, Hungary absorbed 31% of all Chinese foreign direct investment in the EU. Visa‑free travel is in place, and no other city in the region is as closely connected to multiple Chinese cities by air as Budapest, Szijjártó listed among the tangible results.
Artificial intelligence was used for the translation of parts of the original German text.
