Eduardo González
The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, could make his fourth official trip to China in four years this year, as announced this Thursday, February 5, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, during the opening of the tenth Spain-China Forum at the Real Casino de Madrid.
“Relations between Spain and China are going through an excellent period,” the minister stated during the opening of the meeting, organized by the Spain-China Council Foundation (SCCF), which will conclude this Thursday and is dedicated, among other topics, to sports diplomacy, bilateral investments, e-commerce, legal cooperation, and business cooperation.
“Last year, 2025, was especially significant because it was marked by the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Spain and China, which has allowed us to develop an agenda of contacts at the highest level,” Albares continued.
In this regard, the minister recalled that, “in April, the Prime Minister made his third official trip to China in three years, which underscores the priority that the Government of Spain and Spain give to this relationship,” and during which “the 2025-2028 Action Plan was signed, which today constitutes our roadmap for strengthening cooperation in all areas: political, economic, commercial, scientific and technological, and cultural and educational.”
“In October, I myself traveled to Hangzhou to meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, my good friend Wang Yi, in a meeting that allowed us to move forward with the implementation of the Action Plan and delve deeper into the main issues on our bilateral agenda,” he continued.
He also recalled that in November, the King and Queen made “their first state visit to China, to Shenzhou and Beijing, where Their Majesties held meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Jiang, and Chairman of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leiji.” “The result of all this effort has been very positive for our economic and trade interests,” he added.
“In 2026, we want to take a further step,” Albares affirmed. “We are working to establish a strategic dialogue mechanism at the ministerial level that will allow us to institutionalize our relationship with regular high-level contacts to provide political follow-up to the 2025-2028 Action Plan within the framework of the new Asia-Pacific strategy that Spain and its foreign policy adopted last December,” he stated. Furthermore, he announced, “a new high-level visit to China is planned for this year, presumably by the Prime Minister.”
Three trips in the last three years
If it materializes, it would be Pedro Sánchez’s fourth official visit to China in just four years. The first visit took place in March 2023, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. On that occasion, the Prime Minister discussed Beijing’s twelve-point proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine with Xi Jinping.
During the second visit, in September 2024, Sánchez advocated for a negotiated solution to the tariff crisis between China and the EU and presided over the signing of several bilateral agreements on digital trade, services, investment, and cultural cooperation.
Finally, the third visit took place in April 2025 and included the signing, with Li Qiang, of a new Action Plan to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, precisely in the year of its twentieth anniversary. The Plan highlights four main areas of work: economy, trade and investment; agriculture and fisheries; science and technology, innovation and green development; and exchanges between societies in the areas of culture, education, sports, and tourism.
The 2025 visit, which took place amidst US President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive, was harshly criticized by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who declared that “Spain must decide whether it wants to stand with Europe or with those who undermine its principles.” The People’s Party (PP) also criticized Sánchez’s trip to Beijing.
In response to these criticisms, Sánchez asserted that “Spain’s foreign policy is not against anyone; it is in favor of understanding between countries, the defense of the international order, and free trade.” The Socialist Party (PSOE) pointed out that the current PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, traveled to China in 2017 when he was president of the Xunta de Galicia (Galician regional government), and that the then Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, also traveled to Beijing in 2014 and met with Xi Jinping.