This led to pushback in the country and to protests, leading the Hungarian government to delay the plans and promise that it will hold a referendum on the issue.

[1][2]: 162 On 20 February 2023, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member and top diplomat Wang Yi visited Budapest to meet with prime minister Orbán.

During the meeting, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó stated that "[w]hen we have faced crises in recent years, Hungary has always come out of them stronger than it went into them, but Hungarian-Chinese cooperation has played an absolutely indispensable role in this".

[1] On 27 February 2023, Orbán backed the peace plan released by Wang Yi about ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[5] In 2023, Chinese electric vehicle company BYD Auto chose Szeged as its first large factory in Europe.