Hungary’s ex-top diplomat quits parliament to join China’s BYD

Hungary’s former foreign minister has resigned his seat in parliament and taken an executive position with Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD, he announced in a social media post on Wednesday.

Peter Szijjarto, who served as Hungary’s top diplomat for nearly 12 years in the government of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, wrote on Facebook that he had received “a highly prestigious offer” from the world’s top electric carmaker “to fill an international position.”

“BYD is one of the greatest success stories in the automotive industry over the past 20 years,” Szijjarto wrote. “Starting today, I will continue to work as the executive responsible for the group’s external relations and the development of new business lines.”

Szijjarto lost his position as foreign minister after Orban and his far-right Fidesz party lost a landslide election in April to the pro-European Tisza party and its leader, Prime Minister Peter Magyar.

Since then, Szijjarto had been absent for most parliamentary votes and rarely appeared in public or posted on social media. He has held a seat in Parliament since 2002.

In 2023, Szijjarto announced that his now-employer BYD would open its first European factory in Hungary – allowing the conglomerate to skirt European Union import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles imposed to protect the continent’s domestic auto manufacturing sector.

As Hungary’s foreign affairs and trade minister, Szijjarto played a central role in talks with BYD on bringing the plant to Hungary, and said at the time that the decision came after 224 rounds of negotiations between the company and Hungary’s government.

Szijjarto called the project “one of the largest investments in Hungarian economic history,” and said the government would provide financial incentives to BYD for building the plant.

While in office, Szijjarto and Orban opposed EU tariffs against Chinese products and sought major investment from Beijing, opening a series of Chinese EV battery manufacturing plants across the country.

Orban’s government and Beijing also jointly developed a rail corridor between Hungary and Serbia that is part of China’s “Belt and Road” global trade initiative.

While foreign minister, Szijjarto maintained close relations with Russia despite its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 23, 2022. Breaking with nearly all of his EU counterparts, he frequently traveled to Moscow to negotiate agreements on purchasing Russian oil and gas, and to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whom he referred to as his “friend.”

Szijjarto was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship in 2021 by President Vladimir Putin, one of the highest state honors that can be received by a foreign citizen.

He was embroiled in controversy during Hungary’s 2026 election campaign when The Washington Post reported that he made regular phone calls to Lavrov during high-level EU meetings with “live reports on what’s been discussed.”

Szijjarto dismissed the report while acknowledging that he conferred with Lavrov before and after EU foreign minister meetings about their agenda and decisions.

In March, Orban’s government launched espionage charges against a prominent Hungarian investigative journalist for activities he carried out while investigating Szijjarto’s communications with Lavrov. Those charges were dropped after Hungary’s new government took office.

DAILYSABAH