MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is visiting China on Friday, his third trip to the country in two years as his government seeks to boost investment from the Asian giant amid global economic uncertainty caused by a chaotic U.S. tariff policy.
Sánchez met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and was expected to meet as well as business leaders from several Chinese companies, many of which produce electric batteries or renewable energy technologies.
The visit comes at a complex moment for Europe and China. The tariffs announced last week — and then paused — by US President Donald Trump could mean that the European Union pursues more trade with China — the world’s third-largest consumer market after the United States and the EU. There is also growing concern in the EU about China flooding the bloc with discounted goods as a result of US tariffs, which would hurt European producers.
Sánchez’s government has said that EU-member Spain wants to expand its economic ties with China.
Spain’s government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría said earlier this week that Sánchez’s trip “has special importance” and is an opportunity to “diversify markets” — Spain could see as much as 80 per cent of its exports to the US impacted by Trump’s tariffs.
Warnings from Washington
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called out Spain for its move toward China, saying on Tuesday that Spain — or any country that tries to get closer to China — would be “cutting their own throat” because Chinese manufacturers will be looking to dump goods that they can’t sell in the US.
“Expanding the trade relations that we have with other countries, including a partner as important as China, does not go against anyone,” Spain’s Agriculture Minister Luis Planas, who is accompanying Sánchez, said in Vietnam on Wednesday.
“Everyone has to defend their own interests,” Planas said.
Spain leans pro-China as EU is divided
Spain — the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy and a leader in growth — has in recent years been less adversarial toward China than other EU countries. After initially supporting EU tariffs placed last year on Chinese-made electric vehicles, which European leaders have said enjoy unfair advantages compared to European car makers, Spain abstained from voting on the customs duty.
Planas insisted that Spain’s approach to China “contributes to the collective effort made by certain countries in the European Union to get out of this situation.”
Clean energy
The Southern European country, which generated 56 per cent of its electricity last year from renewable sources, needs Chinese critical raw materials, solar panels and green technologies — similar to other European countries transitioning away from fossil fuels.
In December, Chinese electric battery company CATL announced a EUR4.1 billion (USD4.5 billion) joint venture with automaker Stellantis to build a battery factory in northern Spain. That followed deals signed last year between Spain and Chinese companies Envision and Hygreen Energy to build green hydrogen infrastructure in the country.
The Spanish leader’s visit was announced before the Trump administration unveiled its tariff plan.
Spain, as a EU nation, had initially received a 20 per cent blanket tariff that Trump has now lowered to 10 per cent for most countries other than China for 90 days. The bloc also faces a U.S. duty of 25 per cent for cars, steel and aluminum.
China, meanwhile, is facing a crippling, total 145 per cent duty. When Trump announced Wednesday that China faced 125 per cent tariffs, he did not include a 20 per cent tariff on China tied to its role in fentanyl production.
