Chinese police officers in Hungary, the bridgehead of Beijing’s influence in Europe

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

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

The information was revealed by Die Welt, a German newspaper. For the moment the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior is only confirming, without specifying when and where these patrols will be deployed, even if it is likely that they are intended to reassure Chinese tourists, who are increasingly numerous in visit Hungary.

As surprising as it is, this collaboration would not be a first in Europe: between 2015 and 2019, in Rome, Milan and Turin, we have already seen joint patrols of Italian and Chinese police officers. Italy ended this collaboration, officially due to Covid. In reality, it was because we were starting to talk about the secret police station scandal. These advanced posts serving Beijing which, under the guise of helping Chinese nationals resolve their administrative issues, served to monitor them and put pressure on opponents in the diaspora.

Hungary and the “New Silk Roads”

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

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

The hub of electric cars

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

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

Viktor Orban, “the friend of Beijing”

On the diplomatic level, “the friend of Beijing” (as Xi Jinping nicknamed him when he received him in October) knows that his pro-Chinese leaning will tense up Brussels and Washington, in the same way that his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin does not go down well with Westerners .

But the autocrat, in search of international support, is convinced that the future of Hungary lies in the east and that he has every interest in improving his relations with the Middle Kingdom. Budapest, for example, has always opposed European resolutions condemning Beijing for its human rights violations, an interesting position for China.

The appearance of Chinese police officers is an additional pledge of loyalty which should help Viktor Orban gain points: the Chinese president could make his first official visit to the banks of the Danube this year.