Chinese police officers in Hungary, a bridge to Beijing’s influence in Europe

China sending its police officers to a European country? This is not fiction, Hungary is also voluntary. Viktor Orbán wants to strengthen his partnership with the Middle Kingdom.

Uniformed Chinese police officers in tourist areas? This is what you will soon find in Budapest. This device, which has gone somewhat unnoticed, is provided for in a security cooperation agreement that Hungary recently signed with China, on the occasion of a visit by the Chinese Minister of Public Security in February. Wang Xiaohong mentioned on this occasion “New Highlight” Sino-Hungarian relations.

A German newspaper Die Welt has disclosed this information. For the moment the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior is only confirming, without specifying when and where these patrols will be deployed, although it is likely that they are intended to reassure the increasing number of Chinese tourists visiting Hungary.

As surprising as it is, this collaboration will not be the first in Europe: between 2015 and 2019, in Rome, Milan and Turin, we have seen joint patrols of Italian and Chinese police officers. Italy officially ended this collaboration due to Covid. Actually, it was because we started talking about the secret police station scam. These advanced posts serve in Beijing to monitor and pressure Chinese citizens and dissidents in the diaspora, under the guise of helping Chinese citizens resolve their administrative issues.

Hungary and the “New Silk Roads”

We discovered these secret Chinese police stations in Italy, the Netherlands, France… and Hungary. But already, at that time, Budapest was not as angry as others, apparently not at all worried by the idea of ​​bringing the wolf into the fold. But soon, China, the world’s most powerful autocracy, will be able to intensify its international repression by gaining access to dissident citizens living in Hungary, a European Union country. This matter worries human rights NGOs.

If Hungary is so keen to get closer to China, it is first and foremost in economic interest. As Europeans seek to become less dependent on the world’s second-largest economy, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wants to strengthen their partnership. Hungary was thus the first EU country to join the Chinese “New Silk Roads” initiative, through which Beijing seeks to increase its influence through foreign investments (and from which Italy withdrew). In autumn, Viktor Orbán was the only EU head of state to attend a forum on the subject in Beijing. Its strategy is not to take sides, but to be a kind of bridge between China and the West – to secure advantages and influence.

Electric car hub

China has recently become a leading foreign investor in the country, and Hungary, which has long focused on the automobile sector, is becoming a hub in Europe for the production of electric vehicles. Chinese brand BYD, now number one A field ahead of Tesla, It will set up its largest European factory there and promises to create a thousand jobs. Chinese battery makers have also announced major projects.

Hungary is also banking on Chinese telecommunications group Huawei, which is considered a security risk in the United States, including potential economic espionage.

Viktor Orbán, “Friend of Beijing”

At the diplomatic level, “A friend of Beijing” (as Xi Jinping nicknamed him when he received him in October) knows that his pro-China tilt will make Brussels and Washington tense, just as his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin does not sit well with Westerners.

But the autocrat, seeking international support, is convinced that Hungary’s future lies in the East and has every interest in improving its relations with the Middle Kingdom. Budapest, for example, has always opposed European resolutions condemning Beijing for its human rights abuses, an interesting position for China.

The appearance of Chinese police officers is an additional pledge of loyalty that will help Viktor Orbán score points: the Chinese president may make his first official visit to the banks of the Danube this year.