摘要：“You have the Pearl River, and we have the Danube. You have world-class universities, and we also place strong emphasis on the dev

SFC Chief Correspondent Shi Shi at Budapest

“You have the Pearl River, and we have the Danube. You have world-class universities, and we also place strong emphasis on the development and quality of higher education. We both value connectivity and aspire to serve as bridges between East and West,” sAId Rita Szép-Tüske, Deputy CEO of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), in an interview with SFC reporter. According to her, the shared vision and complementary strengths between Guangdong and Hungary highlight the growing potential for deeper cooperation.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – Europe (Hungary) Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference was recently held in Budapest. The event aimed to promote pragmatic and efficient collaboration across multiple sectors between Guangdong and Hungary, injecting renewed momentum into the development of China-Hungary relations.

As one of the first European countries to support the Belt and Road Initiative, Hungary has become a vital gateway for Chinese enterprises entering the European market. Guangdong, meanwhile, is one of Hungary’s most important economic partners in China. Bilateral cooperation continues to expand in areas such as new energy vehicles, batteries, pharmaceuticals, and high-end manufacturing.

Rita Szép-Tüske emphasized that Guangdong enterprises bring not only advanced technologies but also strong R&D capabilities, contributing new momentum to Hungary’s economy. The alignment in their roles as East-West bridges, she noted, creates broader space for future cooperation.

SFC Markets and Finance: Would you like to introduce some achievements between Hungary and Guangdong?

Rita Szép-Tüske: Thank you very much. So Guangdong province is one of our main trading partners within China, and it's the most important in terms of trade. But that is just one aspect of our great trade relations and economic relations, because apart from being one of the most important trading partners, it is also a province where the large scale investments happening in our country are coming from. BYD just recently announced their European headquarters coming to Hungary. So there are a lot of companies who are shaping our economy on a day-by-day basis. So this connection, this cooperation with Guangdong Province is especially important for us, and for me, as a representative of the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency responsible for attracting those companies to the country, who can offer the highest-end of technologies and the newest technologies in the newest industries. I think we have a great partner with Guangdong also in this regard.

SFC Markets and Finance: What opportunities will these Guangdong's enterprises bring to Hungary?

Rita Szép-Tüske: Guangdong enterprises are shaping our daily lives.

Hungary is a country in Central Eastern Europe. We function as a gateway to Europe for these companies. When they entered the Hungarian market, they were also entering the European market. Hungary has a very robust automotive industry, we are well known for that. We are the third country globally, apart from Germany and China, to host the three German premium car manufacturers.

Also, BYD entered the country with the decision to set up their first European car manufacturing facility in Szeged back in December 2023. But it is not that commonly known that Hungary has the eleventh most diverse economy globally.

We are proud to have the automotive industry, but we also have other industries with potential for further cooperation with Guangdong companies. We have great traditions in the pharmaceutical industry, also in MedTech or biotech devices, and a very good tradition in the food industry. Last but not least, we have a very robust battery industry cluster. Among the top 10 most relevant battery producers globally, five are already in the country.

Let me pick two of the many important companies already operating in Hungary.

EVE is in a very unique position. Hungary's aim is to act as a bridge between investors from the West and the East. We offer a unique opportunity for both of them to flourish. We do not focus on the origin of the FDI—we care whether it brings the latest technology, whether it contributes to our economy and benefits local communities. In some industries, the global front-runners are Chinese companies, and this is also recognized by Western companies. That's why they can create a unique cooperation environment, just like BMW and EVE will do in Debrecen.

BMW's factory will start operation by the end of the year, and nearby will be EVE's facility. They will create a co-development environment and collaborate in R&D. I think it's something to be proud of, that we can provide a safe harbor for this kind of cooperation between East and West.

Let me also highlight the case of BYD. They announced the establishment of their European headquarters in Hungary. They will operate in five Hungarian cities—producing electric buses, smart devices, and battery packs, building EVs in Szeged, and opening an R&D center in Budapest. This is exactly the development path we want to take with our partners and investors: the first step is manufacturing, the second is product development, and the final step—where the highest added value lies—is research and development.

This is what we strive for, and what we have achieved thanks to the trust and cooperation with BYD. Bringing their entire European R&D ecosystem to Hungary will strongly shape our economy and is of great value to our country. This is also our top priority in terms of foreign direct investment strategy.

SFC Markets and Finance: So do you think Hungary is a hub or a bridge, linking Chinese companies and the European market?

Rita Szép-Tüske: Definitely so. I have already made the example of BMW and EVE, but you clearly know that Hungary was always in favor and always welcomed Chinese investment. Our largest ever greenfield investment in the entire economic history of the country is coming from China—it's the investment of CATL in the battery industry. I think it is a very important basis for economic cooperation to have a very smooth political cooperation.

We were the first European country to join the One Belt One Road Initiative back in 2015. Since then, we now have 76 years of diplomatic relations with China, but it's safe to say that the last 15 years were the most intense of them.

And Hungary was always very clear also within the European Union, regarding taxation and import duties, and additional countervailing tax. Hungary was very clearly against the countervailing measures regarding Chinese EVs last year.

I think this is the level of firm cooperation which makes the Chinese companies trust our country. They feel safe and obviously supported in Hungary because we've been very consequent and very firm about our positions.

SFC Markets and Finance: Looking forward, what sectors will offer the most potential for Chinese companies and investments?

Rita Szép-Tüske: I think what we have right now is a good basis. As I have mentioned, the already existing companies and investments have laid a solid foundation for cooperation. Our goal is to level up the added-value in our cooperation.

We would like to encourage companies in the battery industry or in electrification, in the automotive sector, to bring research and development to the country. We also hope to increase the potential of working together with Hungarian universities, and encourage investors in these fields to work with Hungarian suppliers and build on the capacities of Hungarian research institutes and universities.

When it comes to less traditional industries or fields of cooperation, I would say that the pharma industry, biotech, and MedTech have huge potential in Hungary. In the last couple of years, we've been able to double the size of our business service sector. These are companies providing inter-company services like accounting and legal services from Hungary. There are also engineering centers, and we would like to focus on them in the future as well. We want to bring more R&D into these fields, focusing on technologies, AI, and software development. These are the future fields of cooperation.

Of course, we are happy to accommodate every company and are ready to support them fully if they are interested in setting up a manufacturing facility, an R&D center, an engineering center, or any other presence in Europe.

SFC Markets and Finance: Guangdong has many high-tech products. Do you expect more high-tech products will be introduced to Hungary?

Rita Szép-Tüske: We hope that. We have already amended our support system according to that, offering state subsidies for companies who would like to set up a new R&D hub in the country.

If you are willing and able as a company to set up an R&D hub outside of the capital, then the Hungarian government will be able to subsidize you.

Basically, the only requirement—the only commitment you have to make—is to create at least 10 new jobs in the R&D field and to team up with a local university.

Because as I said, being integrated into the fabric of the Hungarian economy is a special priority for us. So yes, I expect these new and high value-added investments to come, and we are shaping our incentive system according to that.

SFC Markets and Finance: I know you visit a lot of times to Guangdong and the Greater Bay Area. What's your impression of Guangdong and the Greater Bay Area?

Rita Szép-Tüske: I'm always amazed. In the last one and a half years, I had the opportunity to visit the region twice, and I was really impressed by the level of electrification in the automotive sector.

For example, in Shenzhen, where I visited last time, it was great to see how well the charging infrastructure is developed. In Europe right now, the pace of electrification has somewhat slowed down over the last couple of months. One of the main reasons is the so-called “range anxiety”—people are afraid they won't be able to get from A to B due to insufficient charging infrastructure. But that issue has been completely solved in Guangdong. That was my first impression.

I also sense that apart from the obvious differences in size and geographic location, there are actually many similarities. You have the Pearl River, we have the Danube. You have great universities, and we also put a strong emphasis on higher education and its quality. We are both focused on connectivity, acting as a bridge between Western and Eastern companies. So I think there are quite a lot of similarities, and that's exactly why we see huge additional potential in the cooperation between Guangdong Province and Hungary.

Chief Producer: Yu Xiaona

Supervising Producer: Shi Shi

Editor: He Jia, Li Yinong

Reporter: Shi Shi, Li Yinong

Video Editor: Cai Yutian

New Media Coordination: Ding Qingyun, Zeng Tingfang, Lai Xi1, Huang Daxun

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Overseas Content Coordinator: Huang Zihao

Overseas Operations Editors: Zhuang Huan, Wu Wanjie, Long Lihua, Zhang Weitao

Produced by: Southern Finance Omnimedia Group

来源：对啊CMA教育