Illiberal rationalism? : the role of political factors in Chinaʼs growing (economic) footprint in Hungary

Abstract

This chapter argues that political - rather than economic - considerations seem to be more relevant to understanding the Chinese-Hungarian relationship, particularly after the formulation of Orban’s illiberal democracy. Hungary has become more open to Chinese business opportunities, especially after the global economic and financial crisis, with the intention of decreasing its economic dependency on Western (European) markets. Disappointment coming from the slower-than-expected catching-up processes also resulted in the country’s turning towards the East, which is further reinforced by populistic tendencies in the past one decade. To this end, the chapter gives a brief overview of the history of the relations between Hungary and China, presents the main trends and patterns of economic relations, then analyses the motivations of both China and Hungary, with a special focus on political rationale.