As Sino-Spain diplomatic ties celebrate their 50th anniversary this year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez conducted his first official visit to China from March 30 to 31 since he took office in 2020.
“There is ample room for win-win cooperation,” said the Spanish PM at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023. “China and Asia are known for their can-do spirit, and there’s so much we can do together.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez delivered speech at Boao Forum, March 30, 2023. (Source: boaoforum.org)
Wang Yiwei, Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for China & Globalization, as well as a professor from Renmin University, said in an interview with GDToday on March 31 that Sánchez’s visit may focus on exploring more cooperation in the field of new technology with China and consulting ways to address the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Spanish PM’s visit highlights the importance of China
Statistics show that bilateral trade between China and Spain exceeded 50 billion USD in 2022, with nearly 800 Spanish companies settling down in China.
“Spain is the 6th largest trading partner for China within the EU, while China is the biggest trading partner for Spain outside the EU,” said Wang. “Both countries have established a steady relationship in the past five decades.”
As the first European leader to visit China after China’s Two Sessions, Wang believes that Sánchez’s attendance at Boao Forum shows that Spain attaches great importance to China and ASEAN.
“The economy in Europe is getting worse,” said Wang. “China and ASEAN are currently the two most dynamic regions on earth.”
“The Spanish PM is here for more potential cooperation,” Wang added.
Chinese PM Li Qiang delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum, saying that Asia is the bedrock and booster of the global economy, with nearly 60% of the world’s population, nearly 40% of the total economic output and more than 30% of international trade.
“Most European countries have restarted using coal power, due to the sanctions on Russia’s natural gas,” Wang indicated.
He said that the PM might emphatically discuss cooperation in green technology with China during the visit, as the world is accelerating the carbon-neutral process.
At present, China’s photovoltaic industry has the world’s most complete supply chain and supportive environment, and its global market share of the output from this industry has exceeded 70 percent.
“He must get ready for the energy transition in advance, and China has created green technology, particularly the Nord Stream II explosion and the EU’s announcement to outlaw fuel vehicles by 2035,” said Wang. “New energy vehicles would be a major sector for the cooperation.”
In addition to the green technology, digitization would be another key point during Sánchez’s visit, including artificial intelligence and e-commerce.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Though Spain has not officially signed the documents, the connection of the China-Europe freight train has improved living standards in both countries.
“Based on my observation, cooperation under the BRI has evolved into a high-value-added sector,” he stressed. “This transformation would encourage China to engage in global standard setting.”
During the interview, Wang predicted that the China-EU investment agreement would be launched after the election of the European Parliament next year.
Europe should independently listen to China’s voice on the Ukraine Crisis
To solve the Ukraine Crisis peacefully, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China published “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis” on February 24, stating its position on the political settlement of the crisis.
“Director Wang Yi introduced the document to European counterparts at the Munich Security Conference,” said Wang. “Many of them are interested in this document, including Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Ukrainian Foreign Affairs.”
Since Spain will be holding the EU presidency in July, Wang believes that one of the main topics of discussion during Sánchez’s visit will be how to resolve the Ukraine Crisis.
Before setting off for China, he described China as a “top-tier global actor” and urged other countries to listen to China’s proposal for solving the crisis.
“Sánchez is a pragmatist,” Wang stressed. He believes that Sanchez’s pragmatism is required given the current circumstances, particularly since the UK announced it would give Ukraine a depleted uranium bomb, which could start a nuclear conflict.
“The tragedy of Chernobyl would happen again if nuclear weapons were used,” Wang stressed that the negative impact caused by nuclear weapons would greatly harm Europe, and it cannot be eliminated in a short period.
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in each other’s countries after four days of Chinese-mediated talks in Beijing, according to a joint statement released by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran on March 10.
“This agreement enhances China’s influence on solving international disputes,” Wang summarized. “No other countries could do before.”
“The EU should independently listen to China’s voice on the crisis,” he added. “And it is time for the EU to think about their path.”
Reporter: Steven
Editors: Wing, James
