Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, asked yesterday in Beijing the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, to “hold a conversation” with the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, to “learn first-hand about the Ukrainian Government’s peace plan”.
“I have conveyed to him our concern about Putin’s illegal aggression against Ukraine and I have been particularly interested in the details of the Chinese position following his trip to Moscow and his meeting accordingly with President Putin,” Sánchez said at the press conference following his meeting with Xi. Sanchez was yesterday the first Western leader to visit Beijing since the Chinese leader’s recent trip to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and, also, the first to personally address with Xi (by any means) Beijing’s 12-point proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine.
“I have insisted on the importance of Ukraine, as the free and sovereign state that it is, being the one to decide on the issues that affect it, and, in addition, I have expressed to President Xi Spain’s support for the peace formula that President Zelenski launched a few months ago,” he continued. “I consider that it is a plan that lays the foundations for achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and that is perfectly aligned with the United Nations Charter and its principles, which have evidently been violated by Putin with his invasion of Ukraine,” he added. Therefore, he announced, “I have also encouraged President Xi to be able to have a conversation with President Zelenski to learn first-hand about this peace plan of the Ukrainian government.”
Regarding the “position paper of the People’s Republic of China in relation to the conflict in Ukraine,” Sánchez reiterated that “there are some points that are very important.” “In that sense, I want to recognize the effort made by the Chinese government to position itself on two issues that, in my opinion, are very relevant,” he continued. “The first is the total and categorical rejection of not only the use, but even the threat to use nuclear weapons. I think this is very relevant in the face of the war, but also, logically, to the geopolitical context that accompanies it. And, secondly, respect for territorial integrity, which is, in my opinion, in the opinion of the Spanish Government, something that Putin is precisely violating with his war”, he added.
Four agreements
Apart from his meeting with Xi, Pedro Sánchez met during his official visit to China with the newly appointed Premier, Li Qiang (in office since March 11; in fact, this is Li’s first meeting with an international leader since his appointment), and with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji (also appointed in March). The trip coincided with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.
During the meeting with Li, the two governments adopted four agreements: an Executive Plan for cooperation in education for the years 2023-2026, two phytosanitary protocols for the export of agricultural products and a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in sports. The two sides also pledged to resume the High-Level Dialogues established in 2018, strengthen cooperation in economic and trade matters, and resume the Joint Commission for Economic and Industrial Cooperation. “In addition, we will expand the Spanish Embassy in Beijing, with a new finance counselor,” Sánchez added.
During the visit, an agreement was also reached for the opening of a Cervantes Center in Shanghai. “We will become the first country in the world with two cultural centers in the People’s Republic of China,” he announced. “The prime minister himself has indicated to me that this is an extremely exceptional measure and an expression of the friendship and cooperation between our two countries,” he added.
The President of the Government has had the opportunity to discuss relations between the European Union and China with the Chinese authorities. As the country that will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union next July, Spain will try to boost relations between the two regions, “which are called to cooperate”, in global challenges such as climate change, the strengthening of multilateralism or the fight against growing inequality. “I have conveyed to the Chinese authorities that we find it very positive that the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue has been resumed, as well as my wish that this dialogue can continue,” he assured.
Economic relations, tourism and businessmen
In economic and trade matters, the President of the Government conveyed to the Chinese authorities the need to find a better balance in bilateral economic and trade relations, respecting the rules of the game, improving transparency and guaranteeing reciprocity in access to markets, as he addressed the day before during the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia. “These changes are necessary for the global economy to continue to grow and to guarantee the open strategic autonomy of the European Union, the two great objectives that right now guide Spanish foreign policy,” he declared.
On the other hand, Pedro Sánchez also met with a group of businessmen based in China. “I have asked the Chinese authorities to work to facilitate the conditions for foreign companies,” said Sánchez, who highlighted the adoption of the two phytosanitary protocols for the export of persimmon and almonds, for which the Chinese market has enormous potential. “The sector expects that in 2025 could be exported about 50,000 tons of Spanish almonds to China, that is, more than 40% of production.” In this context, he conveyed to the Chinese authorities his desire to accelerate the adoption of protocols of this nature for a greater number of agri-food products.
In terms of tourism and culture, the President of the Government recalled that in 2023 the Spain-China Dual Year of Culture and Tourism will be celebrated and welcomed the inclusion of Spain in the list of countries to which Chinese travelers can travel in groups. In this regard, the President was able to hear first-hand the needs of the Chinese tour operators sector during a meeting in which they expressed their great interest in the Spanish tourism offer.
