Will China's European Ambitions Founder in Hungary?

WASHINGTON - China's bid to expand its influence in Eastern Europe could hit a snag if Hungary's controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orban is defeated in what is shaping up to be an unexpectedly close election next year.

Hungary under Orban has fostered ever-closer ties with China, which sees the country as a linchpin of its efforts to reach deep into Europe with elements of its global Belt and Road initiative involving infrastructure and cultural projects on several continents. Among those projects is a new railroad running from the Hungarian capital, Budapest, to Belgrade, Serbia. Hungary is also the proposed site of the first overseas campus of Fudan University, one of China's top educational institutions. But in a public letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping late last month, the mayor of Budapest and several other prominent Hungarian politicians pledged to terminate both projects if a new opposition coalition comes to power in next year's parliamentary election.