Spain's Sanchez calls China trade imbalance with EU 'unsustainable'

BEIJING: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called China’s trade imbalance with the European Union “unsustainable” on Monday, as he began a three-day visit to Beijing where he hopes to strengthen economic ties.

Sanchez’s visit is his fourth to China in four years as he seeks to position Spain as a bridge between Beijing and the 27-member European Union, whose relations with the United States show signs of strain.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and unpredictable foreign policy have caused concern among Western leaders, many of whom — including from Britain, Canada and Germany — have flocked to Beijing, in recent months seeking closer ties.

However, Sanchez stressed on Monday that trade between the EU and China was “imbalanced”, calling 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,” Sanchez said, during a visit to Tsinghua University.

He called on Beijing to “help us correct the current trade deficit… A deficit that is unbalanced, which grew by a further 18 percent last year alone. And which is unsustainable for our societies in the medium and long term”.

Last year, Spain, with a population of around 50 million, ran a trade deficit of 42.3 billion euros ($49.1 billion) with China, a country of more than 1.4 billion people.

Spain’s own trade deficit with China, Sanchez added, accounts for 74 percent of the European country’s total deficit.

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 particularly 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.

Sanchez is then set to meet top Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, on Tuesday.

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 percent in 2025, crediting the growth to strong ties with Beijing.

 

Spanish ‘gateway’

Spain holds special appeal for Chinese investors, in part because its economy is growing at one of Europe’s fastest rates and energy costs remain relatively low, said Claudio Feijoo, a China expert at the Technical University of Madrid.

“China perceives Spain as relatively friendly, less confrontational toward China than other countries and likely more independent from Washington. This allows for more autonomous decision-making,” he told AFP.

“Spain is also seen as a gateway to Europe, Latin America and North Africa. It can function as a hub — a place from which multiple markets can be accessed at once.”

Agricultural products have the greatest potential in China, he said, noting that the country “cannot produce all the food it needs, or at least not at the quality required by its population”, while Spain is a major producer of many food items.

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.

Sanchez, one of Europe’s few remaining left-wing leaders, is travelling with his wife Begona Gomez and Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.