Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez yesterday urged “dialogue and cooperation” during a visit to China as he seeks to boost ties with the economic giant despite a trade standoff between Beijing and the EU.
Speaking at a forum in Beijing, Sanchez hailed “strong ties” between China and Spain.
“Even on those issues where our positions do not fully coincide, we maintain a constructive willingness to engage in dialogue and cooperation,” he said in a video shared on social media.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We are committed to developing a positive agenda and seeking consensual solutions that benefit all parties,” he said.
He then met with the Spain-China Business Advisory Council — part of efforts to “deepen trade and investment relations” between the two nations.
“Our objective is clear: to foster a balanced relationship, based on respect and reciprocity that benefits both nations,” Sanchez wrote on social media.
Sanchez was due to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People yesterday afternoon, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and top lawmakers, according to a schedule provided by his office.
His trip also takes him to Shanghai today and tomorrow, where he is scheduled to meet local officials and businesses, as well as inaugurate a new Cervantes Institute cultural center.
Sanchez’s visit comes against the backdrop of mounting trade tensions between the EU and China. The European Commission last month announced that it planned to impose five-year import duties of up to 36 percent on electric vehicles imported from China.
Beijing in June launched an anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the EU in response to an application submitted by a local trade grouping on behalf of domestic producers. The Iberian nation is the EU’s largest exporter of pork products to China, selling more than 560,000 tonnes last year.
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