Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism travels to Shanghai to support Spanish companies in China

This visit forms part of a trip by the Minister for Industry to Shanghai aimed at supporting the investments being made by Spanish companies with projects in China. The Spanish minister also met with representatives from a number of these companies.

The plant will produce phenols (together with acetone and cumene) for the Chinese pharmaceutical industry, as well as for the automotive sector, mobile telephony sector, etc. It will have a production capacity of 250,000 tonnes/year. Estimates suggest this will provide more than 10% of total consumption in China.

José Manuel Soria said the opening of this plant highlights the strength of Spanish companies in China. He believes that, "China has completely transformed itself in recent decades, while Spanish companies have responded flexibly to these changes and adapted perfectly to new conditions".

The Spanish minister also visited the general assembly plant of COMAC, a partly Spanish State-owned company whose main purpose is to introduce and coordinate programmes for the manufacture of large passenger aircraft in China, as well as to develop the Chinese civil aviation industry. It is a major client for various Spanish companies. During the visit, the minister met with executives from COMAC and various Spanish companies in the aeronautical sector.

Finally, José Manuel Soria attended a meeting with various Spanish companies organised by the Official Chamber of Commerce of Spain in China. At this meeting, which was attended by the President of the Chamber of Commerce and the Spanish Ambassador to China, the minister conveyed the Government of Spain's support for these companies and enquired after their projects.

José Manuel Soria said that China is a swiftly changing market that has been enormously dynamic in the last 30 years. He also congratulated Spanish companies and entrepreneurs in China for having correctly responded to this lively environment with such flexibility.

Furthermore, during his visit to Shanghai, the Spanish minister took the opportunity to meet with the Deputy Chairman of China Eastern Airlines, Shan Chuanbo, with whom he discussed the possibility of opening up new direct routes between Shanghai and Spain. José Manuel Soria believes that the eight flights currently operated between China and Spain could be increased, with the corresponding enormous potential for Chinese tourism in Spain.

Visit to the United Arab Emirates

Before flying to Shanghai, the Spanish minister also travelled to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend, where he attended a meeting with companies operating in the country to hear about their plans.