Chinese President Xi Jinping offered stronger ties to Spain's King Felipe VI during a meeting on November 12, 2025, in Beijing, as Spain actively courts Chinese investment. The visit marks the first official trip by a Spanish monarch to China in 18 years and is part of Spain's broader strategy to deepen commercial relations with Beijing despite broader EU-China trade tensions.
Chinese President Xi and King’s Felipe oversaw the signing of 10 agreements on areas including food safety, language education, and space and astronomy. Xi said the nations would build a "more strategically steady, dynamic and globally influential" partnership.
Beijing is seeking Spanish support within the European Union to ease trade frictions, particularly over its subsidized electric vehicle industry. In exchange, China is promoting increased investment in Spain.
Targeted sectors: Chinese Premier Li Qiang also met with Felipe and expressed support for Chinese firms investing in Spain's green technology sectors, such as photovoltaic, green hydrogen, and power batteries.
Chinese companies have already begun investing in Spain. Last year, battery maker CATL announced a joint venture to build a battery factory, and Chinese firms Envision and Hygreen Energy have also made deals in green hydrogen.
China appears to be targeting nations more open to its investments, like Spain, to weaken the EU's ability to present a united front on trade issues. In October 2024, Spain refrained from a vote on EU tariffs against Chinese electric vehicles and has since lobbied for their removal.
Spain's push for deeper ties with Beijing comes amid increasingly strained relations with the United States. U.S. officials have openly criticized Spain's pursuit of closer commercial ties with China.
Spain, as Europe's largest pork exporter, is seeking continued access to the Chinese market. China had imposed tariffs on EU pork products in September 2024.
