Orban was also the first European leader to sign up for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure development effort to project Chinese influence and investment around the world. The Hungarian Belt and Road project is a railroad that will connect Budapest to the Serbian capital of Belgrade. The project, Szabolcs noted, involves a consortium of three companies; two are Chinese, and one is owned by Orban’s childhood friend, the billionaire Mészáros. “So it’s quite clear what the scheme is.”
