It is 22:00 Central European Summer Time, July 29. I have been in Budapest for four days. We set off at 8 a.m. and returned to the hotel at 6 p.m. on both Monday and Tuesday, with no lunch break. Yesterday, we drove more than 500 kilometres over six hours and visited two small cities. We have only one goal: to find a suitable new factory in Hungary for Chinastar M&C to manufacture pressure sensors and transmitters.

Hungary has a population of 10 million, fewer than Xi’an’s 13 million residents. Its land area is less than 100,000 square kilometres with a relatively high proportion of arable land. For comparison, if we exclude the land area of five northwestern Chinese provinces plus Xizang Autonomous Region (areas with limited cultivable land), together with the over 100 million people residing in these six provincial-level regions, Hungary’s per capita arable land is approximately 2.5 times that of China. It demonstrates that Hungary boasts substantial room for future development compared with China.

Last week, General Nie from Chinastar M&C stayed in Hungary alone. Via four or five real estate agencies, he inspected nearly 20 factory premises and shortlisted seven sites. This week, the two of us are re-visiting them for comprehensive evaluation. We assess each location against basic factory requirements, geographical location, floor area, power and water supply, ESD protection, security, environmental compliance, rental costs, recruitment difficulty, labour expenses, and crucially, the urgency of our timeline. It proves challenging to identify a site that satisfies all our criteria.

Our on-site observations reveal that Hungary has relatively few small-scale electronics manufacturers, yet plenty of small machinery and electrical appliance producers. Consequently, it is difficult to source premises suitable for manufacturing measuring equipment, pressure sensors and transmitters.

Factory rental and labour costs in Budapest and its surrounding areas are high, roughly on par with, or even slightly lower than, production line staff salaries in China’s first-tier cities. Meanwhile, labour costs are far lower than those in Northern and Western Europe. In other cities roughly 200 kilometres away from Budapest, excluding towns near the Austrian border in the southwest, costs can be reduced by 30% to 50%.

Most factory buildings in Hungary are prefabricated steel-frame structures. Reinforced brick buildings, commonplace in China, are rare. Multi-storey manufacturing facilities are uncommon; factories are almost exclusively single-storey.

The Hungarian government attaches great importance to investment promotion. The intermediaries introduced by the Chinese Embassy in Budapest and the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA), recommended by the Hungarian Embassy in Beijing, have provided highly efficient and attentive support services.

Furthermore, this field trip has helped us identify potential major clients and relevant suppliers, which constitutes another valuable gain.

All beginnings are hard. Many Chinese investors wonder whether the new Hungarian government will introduce new policies affecting Chinese investment. From my perspective, if we operate strictly in accordance with EU legislation within this rule-of-law nation, we should not encounter unfair treatment. Every country worldwide welcomes compliant investors.

No rational government would oppose investors who create jobs, tax revenue and wealth in compliance with regulations.

While this holds true theoretically, countless hurdles of varying scales await resolution in practical implementation.

Apart from diligence and dedication, we hope good fortune will accompany Chinastar M&C throughout its Hungarian venture.

#22:38, July 29, 2026, Radisson BLU#