End of Viktor Orbán’s 16-Year Rule in Hungary Raises Uncertainty Over Chinese Investments

March 30, Kathmandu – The 16-year single-party rule of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has come to an end. In the general elections held on Sunday, voters decisively rejected Orbán’s authoritarian government, delivering a historic victory to the opposition party, the Together Party. Accepting defeat from his Budapest campaign headquarters, Orbán congratulated opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay. This election saw the highest voter turnout since the fall of communism, with nearly 80 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. In the 199-seat parliament, the Together Party secured 138 seats, achieving a two-thirds majority, while Orbán’s Fidesz party was limited to 55 seats.

As Orbán’s tenure ended, significant doubts and concerns have arisen among Chinese investors operating in Hungary. During Orbán’s administration, Hungary attracted billions of dollars in Chinese investments, notably including a large battery factory under construction in Debrecen. Amid local protests featuring slogans like “Chinese go home,” Chinese businesspeople fear that the new pro-European government could annul previous agreements. Orbán’s foreign policy had leaned towards China, Russia, and Donald Trump’s administration in the United States, a stance voters evidently responded to with decisive disapproval this election.