The Diplomat
The Governments of Spain and China committed yesterday to create a permanent mechanism for Cooperation and Dialogue in trade and investment matters to address opportunities and resolve the problems and barriers faced by companies in both countries.
The commitment was announced during the celebration of the twenty-ninth Spanish-Chinese Mixed Economic and Industrial Commission, which took place in Madrid and was chaired by the Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Cuerpo; the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu; and the Chinese Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao.
The Spanish-Chinese Mixed Economic and Industrial Commission is a bilateral forum to strengthen economic and commercial relations between both countries. During the meeting, in addition to the participation of the ministers, there was a broad representation of Spanish companies from various sectors, as well as the CEOE and the Chamber of Commerce, to highlight their activity and open new opportunities in the Chinese market.
Carlos Cuerpo conveyed to his counterpart the desire to increase the presence of Spanish companies in the Chinese market, so that China can benefit from the experience and quality services offered by the Spanish productive fabric. For his part, Jordi Hereu asked Minister Wentao to facilitate the participation of Spanish companies in the value chain of Chinese companies.
During the forum, as reported by the Ministries of Economy and Industry, Spain highlighted the need to continue advancing its relations with China through a commercial and investment approach. To this end, both countries committed to the creation of the aforementioned permanent mechanism and identified different areas of collaboration in sectors such as industrial technology, pharmaceuticals, agri-food or tourism.
The great growth of bilateral economic and trade relations in recent years makes China a key economic partner for Spain, the main one on the Asian continent. In 2023, China positioned itself as Spain’s second supplier in the world (the first outside the EU) and is the main Spanish customer in Asia.
