On the morning of April 14 (Tuesday), Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Sánchez is on an official visit to China. President Xi noted that despite a complex and evolving international landscape, China–Spain relations have consistently developed in a stable manner, forming a strategically resilient partnership.
A key factor behind this progress, he said, is the ability of both sides to make sound decisions based on shared interests. Practice has proven that deepening cooperation aligns with the interests of both peoples and the broader trend of the times, while enhancing each country’s confidence and capacity to pursue its own development path independently. Both sides, he added, should place bilateral relations in a prominent position within their foreign policies and support each other in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Xi further stated that China has been advancing its modernization drive through a combination of long-term strategic goals and phased, achievable targets, implemented through its Five-Year Plans. China remains committed to high-level opening-up and is willing to share development opportunities with the world. Through its own development, China will contribute confidence and momentum to global economic growth. He called on both sides to seize opportunities, jointly promote innovation-driven development, and strengthen cooperation in trade, renewable energy, and the digital economy, while also expanding exchanges in culture, education, scientific research, and sports.
These efforts, he said, will help deliver more tangible outcomes under the comprehensive strategic partnership and bring greater benefits to the two peoples. Addressing global challenges, Xi said the world today is marked by instability and disorder, with tensions between justice and power becoming more pronounced. A country’s approach to international law and order reflects its worldview, sense of norms, values, and responsibility. As principled nations committed to fairness, China and Spain should enhance communication, deepen mutual trust, and strengthen close cooperation to prevent the world from reverting to the “law of the jungle.” He emphasized the importance of upholding true multilateralism, maintaining the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, advancing an equitable and orderly multipolar world, and promoting inclusive and balanced economic globalization, while working toward a shared future for humanity. Prime Minister Sánchez said that his four visits to China in four years demonstrate the high importance both sides attach to bilateral relations. Chinese investment and cooperation have played a significant role in Spain’s economic development, he noted. Spain firmly adheres to the One-China policy, highly values China’s global role, and remains committed to developing a strategically stable partnership with China. Spain is willing to expand cooperation with China in areas such as trade, investment, and renewable energy, as well as to enhance cultural exchanges. Facing a complex and increasingly conflict-prone international environment, Sánchez stressed that only through multilateralism and the development of a multipolar world can lasting peace be achieved. Spain actively supports the four global initiatives proposed by the Chinese president and seeks closer coordination and cooperation with China to address challenges including geopolitical tensions, trade protectionism, and climate change, while safeguarding international law and multilateralism. Spain opposes a “new Cold War” and “decoupling and supply chain fragmentation,” and supports enhanced dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between Europe and China. A healthy development of EU–China relations, he added, serves the interests of both sides and contributes to global peace and stability. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was also present at the meeting.
Source: Swarna–Touhid–Lily, China Media Group.