EU dilemma
Sánchez’s trip highlights divisions within the EU over how to react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff regime.
Some of the bloc’s leaders advocate pivoting away from the U.S. and forging closer ties with different global partners, but others argue the bloc is better off sticking closely to Washington.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who insists Europe must retain a “pragmatic, constructive and open approach” to the White House, is scheduled to travel to the Oval Office next week to prove her worth as a potential “Trump whisperer.”
Spain’s prime minister said he had spoken to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič prior to the visit. On Friday, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported EU leaders are planning to meet with Xi in China in July.
The last summit of this kind was held in Beijing in 2023 and protocol would normally require the next edition to take place in Brussels. The EU’s willingness to have China play host once again suggests Europe’s leaders are keen to please Xi and use the summit — which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of EU-China relations — to forge stronger ties with the Asian superpower.
In Beijing, Xi championed close relations with Spain, which he said were increasingly important “the more turbulent and volatile the international situation becomes.” According to Sa´nchez, the two leaders spoke at length about global cooperation and the EU’s determination to secure a “just peace” in Ukraine.
Beijing is the final stop in an Asian tour that also saw Sánchez meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The trip served to secure agricultural agreements with Hanoi and lock in lucrative deals involving pork and cherry exports to China.
