"Decoupling" to deal heavy blow to European economy: Hungarian MFA

BUDAPEST, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- "Decoupling from China" and "de-risking" would deal a heavy blow to the European economy, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto has warned.

Szijjarto said this at the handover ceremony on Monday for the Hungarian production facility of China's Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corporation in Szigetszentmiklos, Hungary.

The world has faced a series of crises in recent years, he underlined, resulting in significant changes to the global economy. Europe has felt this impact keenly, he stressed.

"De-risking" would actually create risk, the minister said, adding: "The risk is precisely that the world will be blocked again. Our interest is connectivity."

Hungary's "Eastern Opening" policy, introduced in 2010, has been successful, he said. The country was proud to become the first European Union member state to join China's "Belt and Road" initiative for infrastructure development in 2015.

Hungary has now become China's largest investment destination in Central Europe, which has contributed to maintaining the growth for the Hungarian economy.

Szijjarto also emphasized the significance of Balong's Hungarian production facility, a 5.1 billion Hungarian forint (14.14 million U.S. dollars) greenfield investment for manufacturing electric and intelligent automotive components.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for the company to establish its European base for the electromobility strategy in Hungary," he said.

According to Szijjarto, the electric and smart automotive industry is the backbone of the future European economy, and attracting investment in these areas will provide long-term economic security and growth.

Meanwhile, the minister pointed out that Hungary's automotive industry achieved remarkable growth last year, with a record-breaking 31 percent year-on-year increase in production value, surpassing 10 trillion Hungarian forints. (1 Hungarian forint = 0.0028 U.S. dollars)