Pedro Sánchez meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and the two countries sign four cooperation agreements

Great Hall of the People, Beijing (China)

Pedro Sánchez is the first European leader to visit Li Qiang since his appointment on 11 March. During their meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation between China and Spain in various sectors of interest such as economic and trade relations, tourism, agriculture and culture.

They also discussed various economic and commercial aspects of EU-Chinese relations, and the president was able to convey to his counterpart that both Spain and the EU as a whole wish to increase collaboration with China and thereby be able to move towards a more balanced trade relationship. In this regard, President Sánchez stressed Europe's willingness to adapt international trade rules to the challenges and new realities of the global economy, which has undergone substantial changes in the last two decades.

The meeting proved to be very useful to address the many investment opportunities there are for both China and Spain in sectors such as the manufacture of electric vehicles, an area in which our country is already the fourth largest recipient of investment globally. On the subject of investment, they also discussed the opportunities offered by both countries in industries such as pharmaceuticals and renewables. The two leaders agreed on the importance of relaunching joint cooperation and mutual interest in tourism.

They welcomed the progress made in cultural relations with the signing of four agreements during the course of this trip: an Executive Plan for cooperation in education for the years 2023-2026, two phytosanitary protocols for the export of agricultural products and a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in sports.

Pedro Sánchez will today hold several meetings with businessmen and will meet with the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jiping, and with the President of the National People's Congress, Zhao Leji.

Non official translation