Spanish premier urges China to take bigger role in multipolar order
Pedro Sanchez also called China's trade imbalance with the European Union "unsustainable" and called on Beijing to open its market to European imports.
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HONG KONG: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday (Apr 13) said China should take on a more substantial role with issues including climate change, security, defence and the fight against inequality, adding that Europe will also have to redouble its efforts as the US withdraws from leadership roles on many fronts.
Sanchez, who is making his fourth visit to China in four years, spoke at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
His three-day visit comes as many Western governments seek to maintain engagement with Beijing despite lingering security and trade tensions. It follows visits to China earlier this year by the prime ministers of Britain, Ireland, Canada and Finland.
Spain has been one of Europe's loudest proponents of expanding trade and treating China as a strategic ally rather than an economic and geopolitical rival.
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Sanchez said China could do more in terms of fighting climate change, promoting global health, controlling the development of responsible artificial intelligence as well as nuclear weapons.
"For example, by demanding as it is doing, that international law be respected and that the conflicts in Lebanon, Iran, Gaza and the West Bank and Ukraine cease," he said.
"Europe will also have to redouble its efforts, especially now that the United States has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts."
Sanchez's visit comes as he seeks to position Spain as a bridge between Beijing and the 27-member European Union, whose relations with the US are showing signs of strain.
He is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, where they are expected to focus on geopolitics.
US President Donald Trump's tariffs and unpredictable foreign policy have caused concern among Western leaders, many of whom have flocked to Beijing in recent months seeking closer ties.
CHINA TRADE IMBALANCE WITH EU "UNSUSTAINABLE"
On Monday, Sanchez also called China's trade imbalance with the European Union "unsustainable" and called on Beijing to open its market to European imports.
"We need China ... to open up so that Europe does not have to close itself off," said Sanchez.
He called on Beijing to "help us correct the current trade deficit ... A deficit that is unbalanced, which grew by a further 18 per cent last year alone. And which is unsustainable for our societies in the medium and long term".
China accounted for 74 per cent of Spain's total trade deficit, Sanchez said, adding that cooperation was important to build a "balanced, globalised economy that generates shared prosperity".
Madrid hopes Sanchez's visit will narrow Spain's trade deficit, which more than doubled in four years to nearly US$50 billion in 2025. It is looking to boost agricultural and manufacturing exports to offset high volumes of China's imports.
China's official news agency Xinhua on Monday said Sanchez's visit was set to further consolidate bilateral ties and pointed to a broader pathway for steady engagement between China and Europe at a time of growing global uncertainty.
The Spanish leader is also keen to boost trade with China after Trump, who is due to visit Beijing in May, threatened last month to cut trade with Spain.
Trump's threats came after Spain denied the use of its military bases for US strikes against Iran, a key economic partner of Beijing.
Spanish government sources said a primary goal of the trip is to secure greater market access for agricultural and industrial goods, and to explore joint ventures in the technology sector.
Sanchez is also expected to use the visit to attract new investors for the eurozone's fourth-largest economy and to gain access to China's critical raw materials.
On Monday, he is scheduled to visit the headquarters of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi and tour a technology exhibit at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
During his visit to China in April 2025, Beijing agreed to expand access for a range of Spanish products, including pork and cherries.
The Spanish government has said that Spain's exports to China rose 6.8 per cent in 2025, crediting the growth to strong ties with Beijing.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday called Spain "an important partner of China within the EU", adding that Sanchez's visit offers a chance to "promote bilateral relations to an even higher level".
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia paid a state visit to China last November, the first by a Spanish monarch in 18 years, highlighting the closeness of ties.
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