The Spanish government has confirmed that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit China in mid-April, amid worsening relations with the US which may prompt Spain to seek closer economic ties with Beijing.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will travel to China from April 13th to 15th for an official visit, his office said on Monday, without giving further details of his schedule.
The visit, Sánchez’s fourth trip to China in as many years, comes in the wake of the Spanish leader’s fervent criticism of US President Donald Trump over the war against Iran, an economic partner of Beijing’s.
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The Socialist premier has doubled down on his refrain of “no to the war” and refused Washington’s requests to use Madrid’s military bases against Iran, despite Trump’s threat to sever trade with Spain as a result.
China came to Spain’s defence in this regard, flatly rejecting the notion that international trade could be used as a weapon for political pressure.
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“Trade should not be used as a weapon or an instrument,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated at a press conference, responding to a question about threats from Washington to “cut off all trade” with Spain and even impose an embargo.
On the foreign policy front, Sánchez has sought to help Spanish companies break into new markets and find new investors for the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.
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The upcoming trip comes at a time when oil prices have soared due to Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point for global crude and natural gas supplies, in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes.
China has been bracing for the economic fallout from the Middle East, as more than half of Beijing’s seaborne crude imports come from the region, most of which pass through the strait, according to the Kpler analysis firm.
On his last visit to Beijing in April 2025, the Socialist leader told a press conference following his meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping that tensions over trade should not impede cooperation between the European Union and China.
For his part, Xi urged Sánchez and the European Union to join hands to resist “unilateral bullying”, referring to Trump’s imposition of swingeing trade tariffs.
With additional reporting by Alex Dunham, The Local Spain’s editor
