Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez held talks in Beijing, the second stop of his two-country tour of Asia, amid serious geopolitical tensions stemming from Donald Trump's tariff war.
Sanchez, who visited Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam on Wednesday, described the tariff suspension as “a gateway to negotiation and agreement between countries” after Trump suspended tariffs on most countries except China for 90 days.
Sánchez became the first European leader to pay an official visit to China since tariffs between the United States and the rest of the world escalated.
The White House warned the Spanish government against engaging with Beijing ahead of Sanchez's visit.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said looking to China instead of the US would be a “losing bet for the Europeans” and akin to “cutting your own throat”.
When asked about the US Treasury Secretary’s criticism of Sánchez’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian replied firmly:
“If we are talking about cutting each other's throats, it is precisely the United States that is abusing tariffs to threaten and blackmail the entire world, forcing other countries to submit to its policy of squeezing their throats and intimidating them.”
Trade levels between Spain and China continue to increase, but there is a clear imbalance in favour of China.
According to data from the Ministry of Economy, Spain's imports from China will exceed 2024 billion euros in 45, while its exports will only reach 7,4 billion euros.
This makes China Spain's fourth-largest trading partner, its second-largest supplier of goods, but only the twelfth-largest destination for Spanish exports.
"Only multilateralism and solidarity between nations can overcome such global challenges. Spain advocates a world of open doors. A world where trade unites our people and makes them more prosperous," Sanchez said in Vietnam.
