Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez begins his fourth visit to China in as many years on Monday, highlighting his push for an independent foreign policy that has irked Donald Trump.
The repeat visit highlights Sanchez’s determination not to align himself with Trump — who has heavily criticised Spain for denying landing rights to U.S. forces in the war with Iran and for its relatively low defence spending – and threatened to punish uncooperative NATO military allies.
Sanchez’s approach is popular with voters, but has unnerved firms and opposition politicians who fear that friction with the U.S. administration could be costly for Spain.
Focus On Geopolitics Raises Eyebrows In Spain
Sources said Tuesday’s meeting with President Xi Jinping would focus on geopolitics, and that Spain sees China as a stabilising force.
Yet Ramon Gascon Alonso, Asia-Pacific coordinator of Spain’s Exporters’ and Investors’ Club, said this focus could further harm trade burdened by Trump’s tariffs on imports from the European Union, and “make our already precarious situation much worse”.
A senior opposition source advised against any further criticism while Sanchez is in China, accusing Sanchez of tangling with Trump for domestic reasons and putting at risk NATO unity and the U.S. military presence in Spain.
Chinese ambassador to Spain Yao Jing said warm relations had encouraged Chinese companies to invest.
Chinese Investment In Spain Surges
Chinese firms invested 643 million euros in Spain in 2025, up from 149 million a year earlier, data from the Economy Ministry shows, bringing the total to 9.7 billion euros between 2010 and 2025, primarily in extractive industry and the energy sector.
Madrid hopes the visit will help narrow a trade deficit that has more than doubled in four years to nearly $50 billion in 2025, looking to boost agricultural and manufacturing exports to offset high volumes of Chinese imports.
Still, Sanchez is not taking a business delegation with him this time, and no major deals are planned.
Officials do, however, hope to sign a regionalisation agreement for Spanish poultry exports affected by bird flu outbreaks. A similar deal for the pork industry is credited with staving off a major blow to one of Spain’s most lucrative exports during a recent African swine fever outbreak.
(With inputs from Reuters)
