10/4/2024–|Last updated: 10/4/202403:57 PM (Mecca time)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned on Friday that the European Union is heading toward an “economic cold war” with China, at a time when the bloc’s leaders are preparing for an important vote on imposing tariffs on imports of electric cars made in China.
European Union member states will vote on Friday on whether to impose tariffs over the next five years of up to 45% on imports of electric cars made in China, in the bloc’s most high-profile trade issue that may prompt Beijing to take retaliatory measures.
Hungary has become an important trade and investment partner for China during Orban’s term, in contrast to some other countries in the European Union that are considering becoming less dependent on the world’s second largest economy.
“What they are making us do now, or what the European Union wants to do, is an economic cold war,” Orban told Hungary’s state radio in an interview, referring to the proposed tariffs on China.
Orban – who led a central European campaign to bring Chinese electric car and battery manufacturing plants to Hungary – does not want his country to be pushed on either side, and wants to continue trade with both sides.
He stated that products made in the European Union would be increasingly difficult to sell if the global economy was divided into two blocs, adding that it was unclear whether Hungary’s “economic neutrality” strategy would withstand the challenges ahead.
Orban said last month that Chinese companies had pledged investments worth 9 billion euros in Hungary so far, putting them on par with companies from the United States, which has criticized Orban’s strategy of forging closer ties with China.
