The Consequences of ‘Eastern Opening’: Hungary's FDI Shift to China Under Orbán

Sebők, Miklós and Kozák, Sándor and Tőrös, Ágnes (2026) The Consequences of ‘Eastern Opening’: Hungary's FDI Shift to China Under Orbán. EUROPE-ASIA STUDIES. pp. 1-30. ISSN 0966-8136 (In Press)

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Abstract

This article analyses shifts in Hungary's foreign direct investment (FDI) patterns under Viktor Orbán's government (2010–2023), highlighting a strategic reorientation from US to Chinese investors. Employing network centrality theory within global power competition, the study finds that US FDI stock declined from €15.4 billion in 2014 to €8.8 billion in 2022, while Chinese FDI tripled to €3.5 billion, increasingly targeting strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and battery production. Strategic partnership agreements disproportionately favoured Asian firms relative to their FDI share. Hungary's ‘Eastern opening’ strategy thus coincided with a pivot away from US investment, leveraging US–China rivalry to pursue autonomous economic strategies despite continued Western institutional integration.

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