Chinese electric car giant BYD will open a European centre in Hungary that will create 2,000 new jobs.

The government announced the news as Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to court China.

In recent years, the central European country with a population of 9.6 million has attracted a host of major Chinese projects, mostly related to the production of batteries and electric cars, AFP reported.

BYD has decided to open its "European Corporate and Development Centre" in Budapest, and the investment is worth 100 billion forints (248 million euros), Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said after the signing ceremony, which was attended by BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu.

Siyarto hailed the investment as a "qualitative leap".

"A total of 2,000 new jobs will be created and 90 per cent of these 2,000 jobs will be filled by workers with higher education, mainly in engineering," he stressed.

The BYD CEO called it "another step in the friendly cooperation between the two countries."

The group is already established in Hungary, where it is due to open its first European electric car plant by the end of 2025, becoming the first Chinese company to produce passenger cars in Europe.

The plant is located in Szeged, in southeastern Hungary.

Orban is encouraging Chinese companies to set up in his country with tax breaks and infrastructure projects.

However, China's exports of electric cars have caused tensions with the EU, which in 2023 launched an investigation into alleged subsidies to Chinese manufacturers.

Orban is China's closest ally in the bloc. It hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping last year during his first trip to Europe since 2019.

Since returning to power in 2010, the Hungarian prime minister has championed a foreign policy of "eastward opening", seeking closer economic ties with China, Russia and other Asian countries.

BYD, which started as a battery maker, has overtaken Tesla to become the world's largest electric carmaker in 2024 | BGNES