‘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.’