On Monday, S\u00e1nchez urged China to assume a larger role in a multipolar world, speaking at Beijing\u2019s Tsinghua University a day before he is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina can do more. For example, by demanding … that international law be respected and that the conflicts in Lebanon, Iran, Gaza and the West Bank and Ukraine cease,\u201d S\u00e1nchez \u200csaid.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what to know about the Spanish leader\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez is back in China, again<\/p>\n
Spain says it wants to diversify its political relations with the world\u2019s large powers, including Beijing.<\/p>\n
Spanish officials have said the government wants to shore up more Chinese investment, and boost exports to the country, even though trade is conducted by the European Union, which negotiates on behalf of all 27 member states.<\/p>\n
The southern European nation, which generates more than half its electricity from renewable sources, needs Chinese critical raw materials, solar panels and green technologies \u2014 similar to other European countries transitioning away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
Politically, the trip comes as Spain has stuck its neck out in Europe as the continent\u2019s loudest critic of the U.S. and Israel\u2019s military actions in the Middle East, with the S\u00e1nchez government recently declaring its airspace closed to U.S. planes<\/a> being used in Iran, and refusing the U.S. the use of jointly operated military bases<\/a> in southern Spain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center left, and his wife Begona Gomez arrive at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, Monday, April 13, 2026. (Andres Martinez Casares\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center left, and his wife Begona Gomez arrive at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, Monday, April 13, 2026. (Andres Martinez Casares\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the increased frictions with the U.S. administration, these annual meetings have taken on an increased importance,\u201d said Eric Sigmon, a Madrid-based political analyst and a former U.S. national security adviser, about S\u00e1nchez\u2019s latest trip to China.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez is in China from April 13-15, and will hold talks Tuesday with Xi, Premier Li Qiang and China\u2019s top lawmaker, Zhao Leji, the third-ranking leader of its ruling Communist Party.<\/p>\n A friendlier Spain seeks to balance trade with China with limited success<\/p>\n Spain, the eurozone\u2019s fourth-largest economy, has been less adversarial toward China than other EU countries in recent years. It has sought to reposition trade relations with China, whose exports to Spain are far greater than those of the Iberian nation of 49 million people. China has a population of more than 1.4 billion people.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez\u2019s government has had little success, with China accounting for about 74% of Spain\u2019s overall trade gap.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, right, speaks to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center, and his wife Begona Gomez at the Xiaomi headquarters in Beijing, Monday, April 13, 2026. (Andres Martinez Casares\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n Xiaomi founder Lei Jun, right, speaks to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center, and his wife Begona Gomez at the Xiaomi headquarters in Beijing, Monday, April 13, 2026. (Andres Martinez Casares\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cThis repeated annual pilgrimage by S\u00e1nchez \u2014 his fourth in four (calendar) years \u2014 highlights an increasingly one-sided and unbalanced relationship,\u201d said Alicia Garc\u00eda-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at the French investment bank Natixis. <\/p>\n For China, Spain serves as \u201ca relatively soft, conciliatory partner\u201d that advocates for dialogue over tougher EU measures, Garc\u00eda-Herrero said.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez, speaking in Beijing on Monday, said the EU had done its part, however slow-moving, to balance trade, and urged China to follow suit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need China to do the same. To open up so that Europe doesn\u2019t have to close itself off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Spain wants stronger ties with major global powers <\/p>\n As a midsize political power, Spain under S\u00e1nchez has said it wants to develop stronger bilateral ties with the world\u2019s large powers and economies, including China and, increasingly, India, in addition to the U.S.<\/p>\n![\"Spanish](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776084982_542_.jpeg\")
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