Hungary hugs Huawei; Finland suspends extradition to Hong Kong
Hungary’s claim to be the hotspot of Chinese influence in Europe gained a boost with news that Huawei is opening another R&D center there — its third.
The controversial and well-connected Chinese telecoms company is in trouble elsewhere in Europe: Swedish regulators just banned its products and the Czechs are choosing the rival Ericsson for their 5G network.
But Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, said that the new center, in Budapest, was a “milestone” in Hungary’s eastern strategy. It will employ 100 engineers and focus on artificial intelligence, streaming, image processing, signal transmission technologies and extremely large distribution systems.
Why it matters: Hungary is a weak link in EU efforts to counter China. The government in Budapest refuses to recognize the problem, blusters and conceals its actions and intentions, and is digging itself deeper into a hole.