The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, concluded his official visit to China on Wednesday, during which he highlighted the bridges built with the Asian giant to reduce tariff tensions between the European Union and that country. Sánchez asked Brussels to “reconsider” the tariffs on Chinese electric cars while Beijing awaits the vote that will take place at the end of October within the EU to definitively formalize these tariffs.
China is demanding that the EU bloc back down and has increased trade pressure to avoid tariffs that Brussels has justified by state subsidies received by Chinese manufacturers, both in the automotive sector and in other sectors.
“We will continue working to build bridges, the negotiation remains open,” Sánchez said today in reference to the investigation opened by the Chinese authorities into the European pork sector in response to the customs tariffs imposed by Brussels on Chinese electric vehicles.
The investigation could particularly affect Spain, which is the largest exporter of pork to China among all EU countries, with sales worth €1.223 billion in 2023.
On Monday, Sánchez expressed his surprise to Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang over the investigation opened for alleged unfair competition, as well as during his opening speech at the 9th Spain-China Forum, in which he called for the search for consensual solutions.
Xi Jinping advocates “free trade”
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping made it clear during his meeting with Sánchez that Spain must offer “a fair, equitable, safe and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest and do business in the country.”
Likewise, he expressed to Sánchez his hope that Spain will play “a constructive role” in the relations between China and the European Union to “achieve constant progress in the development of relations in the direction of independence, mutual support and shared benefits.” “We must advocate multilateralism and free trade,” Xi stressed at the meeting.
During his visit, Sánchez acknowledged “differences” with China, for example regarding the “high” trade deficit that “worries” the Spanish and European authorities, but he also showed his conviction that “the common points are greater and more important.” There are many others.
For its part, the Chinese press stressed that this visit is part of a “broader” dynamic between China and the countries of the community, at a time when both parties “are facing the harsh test of commercial frictions.”
China hopes Spain will maintain its “strategic independence”
Analysts quoted by China’s official newspaper Global Times stress that the foundations of ties between China and EU countries “remain solid” and that “the recent visits by European leaders are a strong testimony to this.”
Academic Cui Hongjian told the Asian newspaper that “the willingness and need to cooperate is unlikely to change,” and he welcomed efforts to find solutions to the tariff issue “to avoid a lose-lose scenario.”
Other experts, such as Zhao Junjie, from the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, point out that Spain has “competitive advantages” in sectors such as the automobile, construction, biotechnology or aerospace, and that it can “cooperate” with China in more areas, although Madrid should “maintain its strategic independence without aligning itself with the most critical positions of Brussels.”
“Sánchez’s visit, along with that of other European leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz, shows that China is crucial when it comes to addressing major issues, whether conflict or climate change,” says academic Cui.
Thus, Xi and Sánchez agreed on the need to achieve peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, although in the first case the positions differ, since the Spaniard insisted that the agreement should follow the proposal of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Regarding Palestine, Xi welcomed Spain’s decision to recognize this territory as a sovereign state.
Another objective of the visit was to attract Chinese investment to Spain so that, according to Sánchez, “they can establish themselves as a value chain in our country.”
The President of the Executive stressed that eight agreements have been signed with China, both with institutions and private entities, in the areas of trade and investment; culture and education; as well as science and green development.
Tourism and educational cooperation were highlighted as key to strengthening ties, and Sánchez himself inaugurated the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Shanghai, making Spain the only European country with two recognized cultural centers in China.
