Dr. Levente Horváth is an economist, China expert and Asia researcher, and the Head of the Hungary–Asia Relations Office at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC). He has been engaged in research and professional work related to China and the Asian region for more than two decades.

His connection to China began during his high school years: in 2005 he spent a year studying at Nanjing Jinling High School, an experience that proved formative for his later career. His experiences in China were later documented in his book The Hungarian Dragon, published in 2008. He completed his university studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, where he studied tourism management in Chinese and graduated with the university’s Rector’s Award. He earned his PhD in 2021 with summa cum laude distinction from the Doctoral School of Earth Sciences at the University of Pécs, in the geopolitics programme.

Between 2015 and 2017 he served as the Consul General of Hungary in Shanghai, where he worked on strengthening Hungarian–Chinese diplomatic, economic, tourism, cultural and educational relations. After his diplomatic service he continued his career at the Central Bank of Hungary, where he served as Head of the Education Department from 2017 and later as Chief Advisor to the Governor from 2019.

Since 2015 he has served as Vice President and advisor of the Fudan University Alumni Association. Between 2019 and 2020 he worked at Corvinus University of Budapest as Director of the MNB–Corvinus International Executive Program, where he contributed to the establishment and operation of the Fudan–Corvinus Double Degree MBA Program.

In 2021 he founded the Eurasia Center at John von Neumann University, which quickly became one of the region’s leading research hubs focusing on Asia. The centre launched several international academic publications, including the Eurasia Szemle scientifical journal and the Eurasia Magazine.

In recognition of his work, the Shanghai Municipal Government awarded him the Magnolia Award in 2021, one of the highest honours granted to foreign experts in the city.