Xi meets Spanish PM in Beijing

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is on an official visit to China.

Xi asked Sanchez to convey his greetings to King Felipe VI. Recalling that China and Spain celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties last year, Xi said both sides have since maintained close exchanges and interactions at all levels and promoted high-quality cooperation in new areas.

Noting that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership, Xi said the two sides should adhere to the original intention of establishing diplomatic ties based on mutual respect and equal treatment, take a holistic and long-term view, and add new dimensions to bilateral ties.

Xi also called on both sides to build long-term and stable China-Spain relations with strategic determination, and push bilateral relations to a higher level.

Xi stressed that reform and opening up is a correct development path that China has found through long-term practice, and that it will be pursued steadfastly. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made systematic arrangements for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, bringing new opportunities for deepening and expanding cooperation between China and Spain, he said.

The two sides should work for mutual benefits by promoting development in high-tech fields like artificial intelligence, the digital economy and new energy, Xi said, adding that China hopes Spain will continue to provide a fair, equitable, safe and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the country.

He urged joint efforts from the two sides to stay committed to inclusiveness and mutual learning, promote friendship between the two peoples, and strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges in the fields of language education, youth, culture and tourism.

As next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, China is ready to work with the bloc to review successful experience in the development of bilateral relations and further promote the relations, Xi said. "China hopes that Spain will continue to play a constructive role in this regard."

China and Spain are both countries with a sense of responsibility and mission, and both advocate multilateralism and free trade, Xi said. He noted that China is ready to expand cooperation with Spain in third-party markets in the Global South, and strengthen communication and coordination in the United Nations, the G20 and other international organizations, aiming to inject more positive energy into world peace, stability and human progress.

Sanchez conveyed cordial greetings from King Felipe VI to President Xi.

Spain and China enjoy time-honored friendship, and they have constantly developed and deepened their partnership on the basis of mutual respect, Sanchez said. During his visit, the two sides signed a number of cooperation agreements in fields such as green development, demonstrating the huge potential and bright prospects of bilateral cooperation, he said.

Spain hopes that the two countries will strengthen people-to-people exchanges and deepen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and new energy vehicles. Spain is willing to provide a sound environment for Chinese enterprises, Sanchez said.

He noted that both Spain and China are committed to safeguarding world peace and multilateralism, and that China is a key force for world peace and development and plays an important, constructive role in resolving major international and regional issues.

Spain views its relations with China from a strategic height, adheres firmly to the one-China policy, is willing to be a trustworthy partner of China, and looks forward to deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and making greater contributions to the well-being of the two peoples, world peace and prosperity, Sanchez said.

Spain supports the principles of free trade and open markets, opposes trade wars, and is willing to continue playing a positive role in promoting the healthy development of EU-China relations, he said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the Palestine-Israel conflict.