# Hungary's ex-foreign minister Szijjártó quits parliament to join China's BYD > Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign minister for twelve years and architect of Budapest's China ties, announced on July 15 that he resigned his parliamentary seat to take an international executive role at BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle maker, ahead of BYD's planned production launch in Hungary **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-07-15 · heads: 谁的钱, 悄然的转变 · 7 takes · 6 lenses · 7 regions ## Summary Péter Szijjártó, [Hungary](/zh/entity/hungary)'s foreign minister for twelve years and the official most responsible for Budapest's ties with [China](/zh/entity/china) and Russia, resigned his parliamentary seat on July 15 to take an international executive role at [BYD](/zh/entity/byd), the world's largest electric vehicle maker. He announced the move on Facebook, saying he would be responsible for external relations and the development of new business lines, per Daily News Hungary. The EV industry outlet reported the hire comes ahead of BYD's planned local production launch in Hungary. Szijjártó served under [Viktor Orbán](/zh/entity/viktor-orban) and was the architect of the government's "Eastern Opening" policy, which deepened trade and investment ties with China and Russia over EU objections. ## The split Hungarian and EU outlets (Daily News Hungary, Euronews) treat the move as a business hire by a major Chinese company with an existing Hungarian footprint. The Ukrainian wire UNN gives it a geopolitical frame, noting Szijjártó built Hungary's China and Russia relationships and is now formalising a corporate role with a Chinese state-linked firm. The EV trade press focuses on the timing: BYD has a factory under construction in Hungary and needs political access across Europe. Bloomberg and Caliber covered without additional framing. ## By the numbers - 12 years, Szijjártó served as Hungary's foreign minister under Orbán - 1, the BYD factory under construction in Hungary, the company's first in Europe ## Why it matters Szijjártó moves from being Hungary's chief diplomat to a lobbying role for [China](/zh/entity/china)'s largest car exporter at the moment BYD is seeking regulatory and market access across [the EU](/zh/entity/eu). His relationships with European governments, built over twelve years in office, are precisely what BYD's new international executive role requires. For the EU, which is investigating Chinese EV subsidies, the hire adds to concerns about political access. ## What to watch - Whether Szijjártó's hire prompts EU scrutiny of revolving-door rules for senior officials - BYD's Hungary factory construction timeline and its production-start date - How other EU member states respond to Hungary's continued alignment with Chinese corporate interests ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### Hungary's English-language news outlet; first to break the story, reporting Szijjártó's announcement directly from his Facebook post - **Daily News Hungary** (Hungary, en) — Daily News Hungary reported Péter Szijjártó announced on his Facebook page that he would resign his parliamentary seat and take an international position at Chinese EV maker BYD. Szijjártó served as Hungary's foreign minister for twelve years under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. > "Former Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has announced that he will resign his parliamentary seat and take up an international position at Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD." Source: https://dailynewshungary.com/szijjarto-quits-parliament-joins-byd/ ### EV industry trade publication; framed the hire as significant because it comes ahead of BYD's planned local production in Hungary, and noted Szijjártó will oversee external relations and the development of new business lines - **EV (eletric-vehicles.com)** (Global, en) — EV trade outlet reported that BYD hired Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign minister for twelve years, as a senior executive to oversee external relations for the group and develop new business lines, and that the hire came ahead of BYD's planned local production in Hungary. > "BYD has hired Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign minister for the past twelve years, as a senior executive to oversee external relations for the group and the development of new business lines." Source: https://eletric-vehicles.com/byd/byd-hires-hungarys-former-foreign-minister-ahead-of-local-production/ ### Ukrainian news agency; covered the hire with a geopolitical lens, noting that Szijjártó, who built Hungary's China and Russia ties during the Orbán years, was now taking a formal corporate role with a Chinese company - **UNN** (Ukraine, en) — UNN reported Szijjártó left parliament to join BYD, where he will be responsible for external relations. The Ukrainian wire flagged the significance for readers watching Hungary's ties with China and Russia, given Szijjártó's role as the chief diplomat who built those relationships during the Orbán era. > "Péter Szijjártó left parliament to join Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD. In his new position, he will be responsible for external relations." Source: https://unn.ua/en/news/former-hungarian-foreign-minister-szijjarto-left-parliament-to-work-for-chinese-auto-giant-byd ### Turkish daily; noted Hungary's former top diplomat moved to a Chinese EV giant in an "executive position," framing the move as a corporate hire rather than a political story - **Daily Sabah** (Turkey, en) — Daily Sabah reported Hungary's former foreign minister resigned his parliamentary seat and took an executive position with BYD, covering the hire primarily as a business story about the Chinese EV company's European expansion rather than a political transition. > "Hungary's former foreign minister has resigned his seat in parliament and taken an executive position with Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD." Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/business/automotive/hungarys-ex-top-diplomat-quits-parliament-to-join-chinas-byd ### Pan-European broadcaster; described Szijjártó's new role as an "international executive position" at the world's largest electric carmaker, and reported his announcement came via Facebook on Wednesday - **Euronews** (European Union, en) — Euronews described Szijjártó as filling an 'international executive position' at BYD, reporting his Facebook announcement in full. The outlet placed the hire in the context of BYD's status as the world's largest electric carmaker, and noted Szijjártó had been a central figure in shaping Hungary's ties with China. > "Péter Szijjártó announced his resignation and details of his new position with the world's largest electric carmaker, China's BYD, on his Facebook page on Wednesday, detailing that he'll be filling an 'international executive position'." Source: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/07/15/former-hungarian-foreign-minister-szijjarto-resigns-from-parliament-to-join-chinese-carmak ### unlabelled - **Bloomberg** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-15/hungary-s-ex-foreign-minister-szijjarto-joins-china-s-byd-mrm26mq1 - **Caliber** (Azerbaijan, en) — Source: https://caliber.az/en/post/ex-hungarian-top-diplomat-joins-chinese-byd-to-lead-external-relations ## Across the graph - Related: [[hungary-sulyok-oust-jul13]], [[hungary-eu-funds-unlocked-2026]], [[eu-hungary-rrf-approval-0710]] - Entities: Hungary, China, Byd --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/zh/n/hungary-szijjarto-byd-jul15