Spain reaffirms opposition to President Trump as King and Queen visit China

The Kings arrived in Chengdu this Monday to begin their first official visit to China in 18 years. An exceptional event that coincides with the participation of Government President Pedro Sánchez in Guayabera sleeves to the CELAC-EU Forum (Community). … (Meeting of Latin American and Caribbean Countries and the European Union) was held in the city of Santa Marta, Colombia.

Two gestures that once again demonstrate how Spain’s foreign policy has recently been defined by opposition to US President Donald Trump. The Kings’ arrival confirms Sanchez’s hasty approach to the emerging power, making three visits in just two years, an unprecedented frequency in the history of the relationship, and all the more sudden given the tensions. Asian giants will grow together with the US and the EU.

The government’s second visit last September was against the backdrop of China’s erupting trade war over interregional tariffs on electric cars. The third time was last April, when he tried to defend Europe’s approach in the face of President Trump’s universal tariffs.

On Sunday, Mr. Sánchez was photographed with Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the United States’ main adversaries in the region. The latter, the summit’s organizer, did not hesitate to directly criticize Trump. “The same missiles that fell in Gaza are falling on poor people here in the Caribbean,” he said, referring to the sinking of a drug boat by the United States.

Faced with this situation, Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Bodhi is trying to frame his state visit to China within the scope of “full normalcy” of diplomacy and EU protection. “The objective is to strengthen bilateral relations, an objective shared by the European Union itself. (…) We recognize that our main trading partner in the EU is the United States. Therefore, since the announcement of possible tariff measures by the United States, we have been working from the beginning to prevent the rise of trade barriers. I always remember the figure of 4.6 billion euros in trade in goods and services that cross the Atlantic every day.

“Having said that, if we want to be the protagonists now that the EU, the rules of geostrategy and geoeconomics are being redefined in the future, we have to talk and have conversations and negotiations with all the key actors. Of course one of them has to be China, and considering that we are the starting point. It’s a very unbalanced situation and we have to fix it.» said the corporal during a media appearance upon his arrival in Chengdu.

The minister’s words refer to the significant trade deficit that favors China. Trade between Spain and China will reach more than 52 billion euros in 2024, and within this dynamic the Asian giant has a favorable balance worth 37 billion euros. “We want to further deepen the presence of our exports in the Chinese market and continue to open up this market with huge potential, while also attracting investment into Spain,” he said. Tariffs on European pork also remain unresolved, primarily affecting Spain negatively, with the aim of pressuring the Sánchez government to oppose additional European costs for Chinese-made electric cars.

From Madrid, without Alvarez

From Moncloa’s side, the King’s visit has a great economic content, assuring that they will continue to promote investments from the Asian giants in order to balance the trade balance as much as possible and strive to give Spanish companies access to the Chinese market, but so far only agreements, treaties and memorandums have been announced that will be signed in Beijing and involve five ministries, none of which will be headed by Carlos Cuerpo.

Overall, the agreements between Spain and China range from scientific and educational cooperation to cultural promotion and food security. The Ministry of Agriculture is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on food safety and protocols related to aquaculture, the use of fish oil and meal as animal feed, and the regionalization of African swine fever. In the scientific field, memorandums and agreements will be signed between CSIC institutions, the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, and Chinese academic bodies such as the Academy of Sciences and the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics. In the cultural sector, film and audiovisual co-production agreements are planned. In the education sector, a declaration will be signed to promote the teaching of Spanish and Chinese at pre-university level.

Regarding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cervantes Institute and Sichuan University will sign a memorandum of cooperation in the field of language and culture. Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Álvarez is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday evening. The dates for the state visit have been known for months, but the minister did not fly from Madrid with the royal couple, instead arriving in China from London, where he met with Yvette Cooper, Britain’s secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, on Monday.

However, Chinese propaganda has always praised the king’s ouster as a sign of closeness between the two countries, with an implicit third party in mind. “Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973, China and Spain have overcome the challenges of changes in the international situation and consistently maintained mutual respect and equal treatment,” state television CCTV reported. “The Spanish government has also expressed a long-term commitment to strengthening relations with China (…), Not as a short-term political gesture.

“China highly values the Spanish government’s active, pragmatic and friendly China policy. This policy is in line with the prevailing trends at the time and responds to the fundamental interests of Spain and its people,” Yao Jing, the Chinese ambassador in Madrid, said in a recent interview with the official channel.

The Kings spent the rest of Monday adjusting to the time change. The two leaders will begin a state visit to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, on Tuesday this week, before heading to Beijing in the afternoon to be welcomed at a private dinner by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan.