From Bilateral to Multifrontal

SPANISH Prime MinisterPedro Sanchez’s official visitto China in September sawmuch of the global mediaengrossed with the “trade dispute”between China and the EU overelectric vehicles and China’s antidumpingprobe into European porkimports， and foreboding its escalationinto a trade war. However， soonafter arriving in Beijing on September8， Sanchez dismissed such speculationswith one post on his X account，“Our aim is to maintain the politicalmomentum of the bilateral relationship，strengthen economic and traderelations and support Spanish culture，education and science in China.”

Sound Political Foundation

When Chinese President Xi Jinpingmet Sanchez on September 9， Xi’s messagewas that the two nations shouldadhere to their original intention ofestablishing diplomatic ties based onmutual respect and equal treatment，take a holistic and long-term view ofthe bilateral ties， and add new dimensionsto them. In the meeting withPremier Li Qiang， they both agreed tostrengthen exchanges in a wide rangeof fields from new energy and digitaleconomy to space， culture， and education，and several bilateral cooperationagreements were signed.

This was Sanchez’s second visitto China in two years， showing theimportance he gives to the relationship，which celebrated its 50thanniversary in 2023. Next year willbe the 20th anniversary of the elevationof the China-Spain diplomaticties to a comprehensive strategicpartnership.

On September 9， Sanchez andChinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhongopened the ninth meeting of theChina-Spain Forum， co-sponsoredby the Chinese People’s Associationfor Friendship with Foreign Countriesand the Spain-China CouncilFoundation. The forum has a role inconsolidating the bilateral relationshipand the recent session continuedthe work， with its focus onlocal-level cooperation， people-topeopleexchanges， tourism， culture，education， trade， and industrialinnovation.

Liu pointed out three key directionsfor the two partners to worktogether in： improving bilateral tradeand investment cooperation; expandingcooperation in green development;and accentuating people-topeopleexchange and cooperation.

On September 11， after meetingthe press， Sanchez said in anotherpost on X， “China is a key partner inaddressing major international challengesand， alongside the EuropeanUnion， plays a central role in theworld. Although there may be differences，the commonalities are moreimportant. And to achieve this， wemust continue to cooperate. Spainwill continue to build bridges to helpbuild a strong relationship betweenthe two regions.”

Amid the trade frictions betweenChina and the EU， Sanchez’s Chinavisit， by itself， can be interpreted as agesture to seek reconciliation and afeasible solution for differences， accordingto Ding Yifan， a research fellowwith the Development ResearchCenter of the State Council.

Booming Cooperation

China is Spain’s largest tradepartner outside the EU， and Spainis China’s fifth largest trade partnerwithin the EU. The bilateral trade expandedfrom US $37.9 billion in 2020to US $48.6 billion in 2023， accordingto the China Chamber of InternationalCommerce. Notably， Spain isthe biggest pork exporter to Chinawithin the EU， taking up more than20 percent of China’s pork imports.

In an advisory vote in July amongEU members on electric vehicles fromChina， Spain had backed the duties.But the Spanish prime minister obviouslychanged his mind when meetingthe press in China on September11， saying， “Frankly speaking， all of us– not just the EU members but alsothe European Commission – need toreconsider this decision. Just as I saidbefore， we don’t need another war.For Spain， we will work constructivelyand try to find a solution betweenChina and the EU， a compromisesolution.”

“Economic cooperation is one ofthe most important aspects of thebilateral ties，” said former Spanishambassador Manuel Valencia， who isnow vice president of Técnicas ReunidasInternational， a leading engineeringand construction corporation inthe energy sector. Valencia spoke ofthe organization’s cooperation projectswith China in promoting greenenergy in China and third countries，stressing China’s role in promotinggreen energy around the world andcreating development opportunitiesfor other countries.

At the China-Spain BusinessForum in Shanghai on September10， Sanchez indicated his optimismabout China’s economic development.In an interview with the media，he expressed his hope to strengthenbilateral cooperation in the newenergy vehicle （NEV） industry， givenChina’s booming development in thesector. Some European auto makerscan learn from Chinese NEV brands’technologies， he remarked.

China’s Chery Automobile andSpain’s Ebro-EV Motors signed apact in April to develop new modelsof electric vehicles through a jointventure in Barcelona. This makesChery the first Chinese automakerto produce vehicles in Europe. At anevent marking the alliance Sanchezcalled the agreement part of “agenuine nationwide commitment tosmart and sustainable mobility” thatcould “turn Spain into a major Europeanelectromobility hub，” Xinhuareported.

Feng Ping， deputy general managerof Chery International， told theChina-Spain Forum that Chery andEbro-EV Motors will leverage theirrespective advantage in technologysupply chain and localization toadvance the joint venture： “Chery’sgreen technology will be used in therenovation and operation of Ebro-EV Motors plants to reduce carbonemission.”

In science and technology developmentand application， Tecnalia， thelargest center of applied research andtechnological development in Spain，has joined forces with JiangningEconomic and Technological DevelopmentZone and Eurosmart IntelligentTechnology Research Institute inNanjing in east China， and founded aninnovation center to promote technologicalinnovation cooperation inindustries between China and Spain.

“It mainly focuses on smart manufacturing，perfectly complementingour capacity in industrial robots andsmart manufacturing，” said JesusValero， director general of Tecnalia，at the China-Spain Forum. “I believeopenness and innovation hold thekey for competitiveness in the future，which is not just about a specificcompany， but about a country’s competitiveness.This is why we come toChina to have the cooperation.” Valerotold China Today ， “We want to learnabout China’s technical advancement，the new industrial models and howthe country encourage innovation.”

Sanchez told the press he felt thevitality of China’s economic and socialdevelopment and the great potentialof bilateral cooperation in such fieldsas new energy， high-end manufacturingand third market cooperation.

Stronger Links

People-to-people exchanges areanother facet of the bilateral relationsthat has been gaining steam， especiallywith the inauguration of Spain’sconsulate in Chengdu in southwestChina’s Sichuan Province in March2022. “We hope more Chinese citizenswill visit Spain，” Sanchez said at theChina-Spain Forum. He also promisedto simplify the visa regime by workingtogether with China， and predictedbilateral tourism will outperformexpectations in 2024.

On September 10， an InstitutoCervantes was opened in Shanghai，becoming Spain’s second culturalcenter in China， following the InstitutoCervantes in Beijing， which wasestablished in 2006. At the inauguration，Sanchez said Spain is one of theEU’s most active countries in studyingthe Chinese language. Around 60，000people are learning Chinese in Spain，mainly through the Confucius institutes.A China Cultural Center openedin Madrid in 2005 and another centerin Barcelona is said to be in the pipeline.Meanwhile， in China more than60，000 people are learning Spanish – inover 200 primary and middle schoolsand 100-plus universities across thecountry.

In Shanghai， the bilateral culturalexchanges have gone beyond languagelearning. A series of Spanish art exhibitionsheld at museums like “The Greatsof Six Centuries： Masterpieces from theMuseo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza”and those in the art space of ShanghaiSubway have given Chinese easy reachto the work of Spanish masters.

Moreover， apart from such highprofileexchange platforms as theChina-Spain Forum and the InstitutoCervantes， a series of internationalseminars and symposiums havebeen sponsored by governmentaldepartments， enterprises， and theprivate sector to promote bilateralexchanges in various fields， enhancingthe mutual understanding of thetwo peoples.

Chinese company Shenzhen Airlines’maiden direct flight on August28， 2023 between Shenzhen in southChina and Barcelona marked anothernew addition to the Spanish city’sconnections with China. At the China-Spain Forum， Maria Eugenia Gay，second deputy mayor of Barcelona，emphasized how Barcelona’s sistercitypartnerships with Shanghai andShenzhen and cooperation partnershipswith other Chinese cities likeGuangzhou and Chengdu have promotedthe Spanish city’s exchangeswith China， boosting mutual developmentin many fields.

Many Chinese companies are participatingin the international eventshosted by Barcelona like the MobileWorld Congress and Smart City ExpoWorld Congress. “All this has greatlyenhanced people’s mutual understandingand exchanges between thetwo countries，” Gay said. At the forumSanchez announced that a Chinesearchitecture exhibition will be held inBarcelona next year.

Dynamic exchanges in an array offields underpin the sound developmentof the bilateral ties. “Despitethe divergence on some issues， weboth share the willingness to havedialogues and negotiations witheach other. We commit to seek solutionson the basis of mutual benefitand consensus，” Sanchez told theforum.