Pedro Sánchez reaffirms Spain's commitment to building bridges and a fair and balanced relationship with China

Shanghai (China)

On the final day, Pedro Sánchez visited the Spanish technology business cluster in Kunshan, an industrial park where many Spanish companies have their production plants, and he made a positive assessment of the trip.

In a complex geopolitical context, Spain and China have given new impetus to their bilateral relationship, the president of the Government of Spain explained. In his meeting with President Xi Jinping, the two leaders agreed to maintain a regular dialogue at the highest level. This relationship has been built on solid foundations, as demonstrated by the two visits the president of the Government of Spain has made to China in under two years.

Sánchez pointed out that, despite the differences that may exist in certain areas, "the points in common are more important" and called for cooperation. Especially between Europe and China, two regions that "play a central role in the world".

In this regard, the president of the Government of Spain reiterated Spain's commitment to "build bridges and a solid and cooperative relationship", as he conveyed to President Xi Jinping and the rest of the country's interlocutors during their respective meetings, and stressed Spain's commitment to open trade between the two regions and for the negotiated and agreed resolution, within the framework of the WTO, of trade disputes, provided that the legitimate concerns of both parties are taken into account and that trade relations develop on equal terms. "We don't want a trade war that would benefit no one", the president said.

Spain considers China to be a fundamental partner for dealing with major international challenges such as the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the climate emergency, and the 2030 Agenda and its financing, issues that the president of the Government of Spain discussed with President Xi on this trip.

One of the objectives of this visit was to strengthen the economic and trade relationship between the two countries. For this reason, the president of the Government of Spain held meetings with Spanish and Chinese companies within the framework of the Business Advisory Council held in Beijing, and at the Business Meeting in Shanghai, in addition to other bilateral meetings with Chinese companies with interests or plans to invest in Spain.

In this respect, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the company Envision, committing it to lead an investment of one billion dollars to develop an electrolyser production plant in Spain to produce green hydrogen.

This MoU is part of eight agreements that have been signed on this trip with both institutions and private entities, in the fields of trade and investment, culture and education, as well as science and green development.

The president said that during these meetings he had noted "the enormous potential for growth in the relationship between Spain and China", especially in green and innovative industries. However, he also pointed to the need to rebalance economic relations between the two countries.

The last of the objectives of this trip was to promote cultural, educational and scientific relations between the two countries.

"In cultural terms, both countries have a great background and an excellent outlook for the future", Sánchez stressed, with a "mutual interest in getting to know each other". As a result, Spain has two Cervantes Institutes in China, making it the only European country to have two such cultural centres in the country. "A gesture of friendship for which I am sincerely grateful", said the president.

This friendship was demonstrated at the Spain-China Forum which took place in Beijing on the first day of the trip. A space for civil societies to meet in order to promote mutual knowledge of both countries.

Visit to the Spanish technology business cluster in Kunshan

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his visit to the Kunshan industrial and technological cluster | Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The trip ended with a visit by the president of the Government of Spain to the Spanish technology business cluster in Kunshan, in the province of Suzhou. The city is home to an industrial park where many domestic companies based in China have their production plants.

Sánchez met with the CEOs and representatives of several of these companies, including Mondragón Internacional, Fagor Arrasate and Gestamp. The president saw the work they carry out in China first-hand, showing the government's support for these companies in such an important and complex market as China.

Non official translation