Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Chinese vehicle maker BYD will set up a business and development center in Budapest.

Minister Szijjártó said the center will be established as part of an investment of around HUF 100bn, adding that the government planned to provide HUF 20bn of support for the project.

BYD's new center will create a total of 2,000 jobs and around 90pc of those will be for people with university degrees, mainly engineers, he said.

In the framework of a strategic agreement signed with BYD, the Budapest development center will employ Hungarian PhD students, university researchers and students in vocational training programmes, he said.

At least 50pc of patents the center produces will be registered in Hungary, and commitments were made to partner with as many local businesses and suppliers as possible, he added.