Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has accused former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó of moving directly from public office to a Chinese company that received extensive state support while Viktor Orbán’s government was in power.
Hungary’s political realignment has gathered pace after Péter Szijjártó resigned his parliamentary mandate to take a senior international position with Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD.
Szijjártó, who served as foreign minister for almost 12 years under former prime minister Viktor Orbán, said he would become responsible for external relations and the development of new business areas at the Chinese company. His departure from parliament and appointment by BYD were announced on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar responded by claiming that the “complete disintegration” of the formerly governing Fidesz party was continuing at an accelerating rate.
In a post on Facebook, Magyar accused Szijjártó of having represented foreign interests while serving in government and of helping BYD obtain substantial Hungarian state subsidies.
“Péter Szijjártó, the former foreign minister, who previously represented foreign interests, officially announced today that he is leaving politics and will become an executive at the Chinese company for which he had previously secured enormous Hungarian state subsidies,” Magyar wrote.
“The difference compared with the previous situation will be that from now on, Péter Szijjártó will be paid for the same ‘work’ not by the Hungarian people, but by his actual employer.”
Magyar’s description of Szijjártó as having represented foreign interests is a political allegation. However, the former minister played a central role in attracting Chinese investment to Hungary and publicly promoted BYD’s expansion in the country.
BYD’s Hungarian investments
BYD announced in December 2023 that it had selected Szeged, in southern Hungary, as the location for its first European passenger-car manufacturing plant. The project became one of the flagship investments secured under Orbán’s policy of strengthening economic relations with China.
Szijjártó’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was directly involved in the negotiations. The ministry also controlled Hungary’s investment-promotion system and announced the incentives offered to foreign companies.
In 2025, Szijjártó confirmed that the government would provide 20 billion forints, then worth about $64 million, to support BYD’s new European business and development centre in Budapest. The wider project was valued at approximately 100 billion forints and was expected to create around 2,000 jobs.
BYD’s manufacturing plant in Szeged has separately been presented as a multibillion-euro investment capable of producing electric vehicles for the European market.
The company’s Hungarian expansion attracted attention in Brussels. The European Commission opened an examination of subsidies connected to BYD’s European operations under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which is intended to identify state support from non-EU countries that may distort competition within the single market.
Szijjártó’s decision to join the company has consequently prompted questions over the movement of senior politicians into businesses that benefited from policies or public funding for which they had responsibility.
There is no indication that his appointment breaches Hungarian law. BYD has not publicly suggested that Szijjártó’s recruitment was linked to any particular government decision.
Senior Fidesz figures depart
Magyar said leading Fidesz politicians were leaving what he described as a sinking ship and claimed that Orbán’s party had formally entered a period of disintegration.
Szijjártó’s departure came two days after Gergely Gulyás resigned as leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group in protest against constitutional changes introduced by Magyar’s Tisza government.
Hungary Parliament Removes President in First Major Break With Orban-Era Institutions
Hungary’s parliament approved the constitutional amendment on July 13, using the two-thirds majority won by Tisza in the April general election.
The amendment provides for the early termination of President Tamás Sulyok’s mandate. Magyar has repeatedly called Sulyok an Orbán “puppet”, arguing that the president failed to act independently while Fidesz was in power.
The constitutional package also imposes a 12-year limit on parliamentary service and restores a compulsory retirement age of 70 for Constitutional Court judges. The parliamentary limit could prevent a number of long-serving Fidesz politicians from standing at future elections.
Fidesz MPs boycotted the vote and accused the new government of using its parliamentary majority to remove political opponents. Gulyás said the reforms represented a break with constitutional democracy.
The amendment was adopted by 139 votes to six, with 54 MPs not participating.
Magyar argues that the measures are required to dismantle institutional arrangements created during Orbán’s 16 years in office. Critics have objected to the speed of the process and to the use of constitutional amendments affecting specific office-holders.
The prime minister also criticised Orbán for travelling to the United States while the reforms were being debated. He accused the former prime minister of writing about a constitutional crisis on social media while attending a sporting event with members of his family and business associates.
Szijjártó’s departure does not by itself establish that Fidesz is collapsing. The party remains Hungary’s largest opposition force and retains an established national organisation.
However, the departure of two senior figures within days, combined with constitutional changes that could restrict the future political careers of long-serving Fidesz MPs, has increased pressure on the party following its loss of power in April.
Szijjártó’s move is also likely to maintain scrutiny of the relationship between the former government and Chinese investors. His new position places one of the principal architects of Hungary’s China policy inside one of the largest companies to have benefited from that policy.
