Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressing hope that the European Union will be able to avoid a trade conflict with China. This is happening against the background of the discussions in Brussels on the introduction of customs duties on Chinese electric cars, the "Reuters" agency reported, quoted by BTA.
Ahead of the meeting with Xi, Sanchez addressed a business event, opining that potential EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars posed a "challenge". He said that Spain will seek to build a consensus on this issue within the World Trade Organization, a government source said.
„The trade war will not benefit anyone”, Sanchez emphasized, adding that he wants to create equal conditions for cooperation with Chinese companies.
In June, Chinese officials warned that disputes with the EU over electric cars could escalate into a trade conflict. This warning came soon after China launched an anti-dumping investigation against European pork imports. In August, China stepped up the pressure by launching a review of EU member countries' dairy subsidies.
In 2023, Spain exported $1.5 billion worth of pork products, which are now under investigation in China, according to Chinese customs data. After Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark are also among the leading pork exporters to China, with export volumes of $620 million and $608 million, respectively.
„We want to build bridges to protect a fair trade order,” Sanchez told Chinese Premier Li Qiang before his meeting with Xi.
He trasladado al prime minister Li Qiang que, en un mundo con grandes opportunidades y desafíos, España quiere seguir strechando sus relaciones con China para dar pleno contenido a nuestra Asociación Estratégica Integral.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) September 9, 2024
Queremos tender puentes para defender juntos un orden… pic.twitter.com/NYYOJU9zNo
On Sanchez's official account on the social network X (formerly Twitter), a video of his arrival in Beijing was posted, with the text: “Our goal is to maintain political dialogue at a high level, strengthen economic and trade ties, as well as to promote Spanish culture, education and science in China.“
Empezamos en Pekín nuestra visita oficial a China, donde me reuniré con las principales autoridades del país y representantes del mundo empresarial y cultural.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) September 8, 2024
Nuestro objetivo es mantener el impulso poliítico de la relación, reinforcer la relaciónómicaómica y&hellip ; pic.twitter.com/Ffe7CsKwgL
The Spanish prime minister wants assurances that China will not respond to potential EU tariffs by increasing duties on European cars with large petrol engines. According to Chinese media, such actions would harm the Spanish car industry, especially the manufacturer SEAT, which is owned by Volkswagen and is among Spain's biggest employers.
President Xi Jinping also met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre, with whom they discussed expanding cooperation in the field of green energy. According to Chinese state television, Xi highlighted opportunities for deepening cooperation in areas such as environmental protection, energy transition, maritime transport, agriculture, fishery products and electric vehicles.
On the issue of the crisis in Ukraine, Xi expressed to Storer the hope that all countries will make efforts to create favorable conditions for a political solution through dialogue, Chinese media reported.