Spain's PM calls for more balanced EU-China relations

Spain favours a more balanced relationship between the European Union and China based on negotiations to resolve differences, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says after meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Sanchez's visit aims to forge closer economic and political ties with Beijing amid the global fallout of US President Donald Trump's tariff policy, seeking to position Spain as an interlocutor between China and the EU and attract Chinese investment.

Spanish officials have rejected a US warning that moving closer to the Asian country would be "cutting your own throat".

At the start of their talks, Sanchez said Spain saw China as a partner to the EU. Officially, the bloc described China as a "partner for co-operation, an economic competitor and a systemic rival" in its 2019 strategy.

"We want to work on issues of common interest, promoting trade and investment in a balanced way to benefit the development of our countries from our respective visions, and we want to foster closer ties between our societies," Sanchez told Xi on Friday.

The Chinese leader underlined this was Sanchez's third visit in as many years, adding that strengthening bilateral relations in the current global context promoted peace, stability and prosperity.

Spain - the euro zone's fourth-largest economy and a leader in growth - has in recent years been less adversarial toward China than other EU countries.

After initially supporting EU tariffs placed last year on Chinese-made electric vehicles, which European leaders have said enjoy unfair advantages compared to European car makers, Spain abstained from voting on the customs duty.

with PA