The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, participated yesterday in the first day of the G20 Summit, which is being held in Bali (Indonesia) and in the margins of which he held a bilateral meeting with the President of China, Xi Jinping, to whom he asked “China to use its influence to persuade Russia to put an end to the war”.
Bali hosts from yesterday until today the seventeenth meeting of leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20), an event inevitably marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and which has been organized by the Indonesian Presidency in turn. Spain, the permanent guest country, is represented by Pedro Sánchez, who is accompanied by his Ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.
During his speech at the opening plenary session, which focused on food security and energy security, the President of the Government denounced the “brutal and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine” and warned that “the food and energy crises created by the conflict in Ukraine are having devastating economic, social and developmental effects around the world”. He therefore urged world leaders to “redouble efforts to increase supply and reduce food prices” and “not to use the war in Ukraine as a pretext to backtrack on current decarbonization commitments.”
Xi Jinping
On the sidelines of the Summit, Pedro Sánchez held bilateral meetings with the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, as host; with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong; and with the President of the Popular Republic of China, Xi Jinping.
During this last meeting, as reported by Moncloa, Sánchez reminded Xi that Spain, together with the vast majority of countries, has condemned from the outset Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, “a threat to world peace and stability that subverts the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that China has always defended”. For this reason, the president asked him that “China use its influence to persuade Russia to end the war.”
The two leaders also discussed the upcoming Spanish Presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2023 and the opportunities it may bring for both and, in this regard, Sanchez stressed the desire to further boost cooperation between the EU and China in trade and investment. Likewise, Sánchez and Xi talked about the state of bilateral relations between Spain and China which, in 2023, will celebrate the 50th anniversary since their establishment, and the President of the Government recalled the results of the state visit that Xi Jinping made in November 2018 to Spain, in which relations were raised to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Apart from that, the Prime Minister highlighted the interest of Spain and its companies in further increasing and diversifying trade and investment exchanges and stressed the importance of the recent contract signed by China in the field of the European aeronautical industry.
For his part, Xi Jinping also recalled the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, based on “mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit”. Also, as reported by the official Xinhua news agency, the president assured that China is willing to work with Spain to push the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership “to a new level” and called on the two countries to maintain “regular communication”, strengthen high-level contacts and consolidate “mutual trust”. Xi also “welcomed” the entry of Spanish enterprises and products into the Chinese market and called on Spain to “grant Chinese enterprises fair, transparent and non-discriminatory market treatment”.
The previous day, Xi Jinping met in Bali with the President of the United States, Joe Biden. According to the White House, Biden assured that his country will continue to compete “vigorously” with China, but insisted that this competition “must not lead to conflict” and that the United States and China “must manage competition responsibly and maintain open lines of communication”. For his part, Xi -according to Xinhua- assured that the situation in which relations between China and the US find themselves “does not correspond to the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples nor does it match the expectations of the international community” and affirmed that the “two great countries” must “play the role of leadership and set the right course in their bilateral relations”.
