‘It was thought that the BRI, aside enhancing China’s geo-political clout, would have not just boosted trade and growth, it would have also created sustainable development and social stability in the countries involved. On the contrary, the social impact of large infrastructure projects were are often implemented through human rights violations.’
Hungarian-Chinese relations are largely about a medium-sized nation’s struggle to diversify and reduce the risk of having all of its eggs in the German manufacturers’ basket.
‘Indeed, things are getting so difficult for Xi’s authoritarian directives…China’s economy actually fell into deflation in July, while factory-gate prices also extended declines—its debt is three times its GDP in 2022. Beijing’s consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, fell 0.3 per cent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) said, after having flatlined in June.’
‘In fairness, to say that Washington, Brussels, and Budapest have some pre-existing policy disagreements is a laughable understatement. Nonetheless, the question remains: Why is Hungary growing closer to China as the West grows further away? The short answer is: it’s complicated.’
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.