Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez urges China to take on bigger role in multipolar order
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (left) is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14, where they are expected to focus on geopolitics.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on April 13 that China should take on a more substantial role in issues including climate change, security, defence and the fight against inequality, adding that Europe will also have to redouble its efforts as the US withdraws from leadership roles on many fronts.
Mr Sanchez, who is making his fourth visit to China in four years, spoke at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.
His visit comes as many Western governments seek to maintain engagement with Beijing despite lingering security and trade tensions.
It follows visits to China earlier in 2026 by the prime ministers of Britain, Ireland, Canada and Finland.
Spain has been one of Europe’s loudest proponents of expanding trade and treating China as a strategic ally rather than an economic and geopolitical rival.
Mr Sanchez said China could do more in terms of fighting climate change, promoting global health, controlling the development of responsible artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons.
“For example, by demanding as it is doing, that international law be respected and that the conflicts in Lebanon, Iran, Gaza and the West Bank and Ukraine cease,” he said.
“Europe will also have to redouble its efforts, especially now that the US has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts.”
Mr Sanchez is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 14, where they are expected to focus on geopolitics.
China accounted for 74 per cent of Spain’s total trade deficit, Mr Sanchez said.
He added that cooperation was important to build a “balanced, globalised economy that generates shared prosperity”.
Madrid hopes Mr Sanchez’s visit will narrow Spain’s trade deficit, which more than doubled in four years to nearly US$50 billion (S$63.8 billion) in 2025.
It is also looking to boost agricultural and manufacturing exports to offset high volumes of imports from China.
China’s official news agency Xinhua said on April 13 that Mr Sanchez’s visit was set to further consolidate bilateral ties and pointed to a broader pathway for steady engagement between China and Europe at a time of growing global uncertainty. REUTERS
