<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Pacific of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luis Fonseca, has defended a "pragmatic approach" to relations with China and warned of the need to take advantage of growing Chinese investment in Spain to strengthen our country's industrial value chains.</strong></h4> Fonseca spoke these words on June 17, during the first General Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Spain-China Council Foundation (FCEC, <span class="HwtZe" lang="en"><span class="jCAhz ChMk0b"><span class="ryNqvb">by its acronym in Spanish</span></span></span>) in 2025. The meeting took place at CaixaBank's corporate headquarters in Madrid. It was the first meeting under the chairmanship of Oskar Goitia, according to a press release from the FCEC. During the meeting, the annual accounts for the 2024 financial year were approved and the development of the action plan for this year was reviewed. Two key initiatives stand out: the organization of the 10th Spain-China Forum, scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026, and the next edition of the Future Chinese Leaders program. This initiative will hold its sixteenth edition during the first week of July, dedicated to the field of education, a strategic sector in bilateral relations with high potential for collaboration. In addition, the Board of Trustees meeting also served to institutionally welcome the Spanish Chamber of Commerce as a new member, represented at the meeting by its Director General, Inmaculada Riera. "China is a strategic location for the Chamber; it represents a great opportunity to strengthen Spanish business presence and advance public-private collaboration," Riera stated during the meeting. He also recalled that, although the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in China has not yet regained its official status, both the Chamber and the CEOE have been present on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's last two trips to Beijing. For his part, Luis Fonseca offered a broad overview of the current situation in the bilateral relationship and emphasized the importance of maintaining a pragmatic approach to ties with China and the need to leverage growing Chinese investment in Spain as a lever to strengthen our country's industrial value chains. Last April, Pedro Sánchez made his third official trip to China in just three years. During that visit, which coincided with the start of the trade war launched by United States President Donald Trump against China, the European Union, and the rest of the world, the Prime Minister addressed the need to "strengthen and balance the economic and trade relationship" to "develop balanced trade and investment relations with China, with reciprocal conditions and balanced competition." He also attended, alongside President Xi Jinping, the signing of several trade agreements favorable to important Spanish products such as pork and cosmetics. Separately, Pedro Sánchez received the Vice President of the People's Republic of China, Han Zheng, in Madrid on June 11. He discussed, among other issues, the need to improve economic and trade relations between China and the European Union within the framework of the trade war and the investment and business opportunities existing between the two countries. The Prime Minister insisted that, although trade relations have grown substantially, there remains a "certain imbalance," and highlighted the great potential for collaboration in sectors where China is at the forefront, such as the automotive industry, batteries, photovoltaics, and green hydrogen.
