The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchezexpressed his surprise to Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on Monday at the country’s investigation into pigs from Spain and defended the demand of this sector.
China opens investigation into alleged unfair competition to certain pork products from the European Union, where Spain is the leading exporter to that country, in response to the customs tariffs imposed by Brussels on Chinese electric vehicles, was present during Sánchez’s conversation with Li.
Sources from the Spanish government reported that during their closed-door meeting on the occasion of Sánchez’s visit to China, the head of the Executive and his Chinese counterpart addressed this issue with clarity and frankness. The President of the Government, according to these sources, expressed his surprise to Li at the investigations which affect the Spanish pork industry.
Furthermore, he highlighted the high standards with which companies in this sector work, said they were willing to cooperate and expressed his wish that this issue be resolved through dialogue and mutual understanding.
For his part, Li Qiang has clearly expressed its concern about European tariffs on Chinese electric cars and he regretted that those from his country were treated differently from those who arrive from other countries such as the United States or Canada. Li assured that all subsidies to the Chinese automobile industry were in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization.
After this exchange of views, both parties showed their willingness to reach an agreement through dialogue and cooperationBut the two heads of government did not speak, according to these sources, about the significance of the Spanish vote within the European Union when they decide in the coming weeks on the definitive nature or not of the customs duties on Chinese electric vehicles.
Sánchez will also meet this Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, to whom he intends to convey the same message regarding these tariff tensions.
