Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will be the first of a series of European leaders to head east following the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump of sweeping global trade tariffs, with a trip to Vietnam and China starting on Wednesday, APA reports citing Reuters.
Sanchez will spend two days in Vietnam, forging a political connection with the country's Communist leadership, before travelling on to Beijing on Friday for a day's visit.
The trip to China is Sanchez's third in as many years as he seeks to position Spain as an interlocutor between China and the 27-member European Union.
During a visit last September, Sanchez announced a reversal of Spain's position in support of the EU applying tariffs to Chinese electric vehicles.
Since then, Chinese investments in Spain have been confirmed including in a factory by battery maker CATL and a factory to make electrolysers for green hydrogen production by Envision. EV producer Leapmotor, lithium battery maker Sematec and Chinese electrolyser manufacturer Hygreen are reported to be weighing further projects.
Europeans have previously been susceptible to U.S. warnings to be wary of allowing Chinese investments in strategic industries, and relations have been frayed by trade tensions and China's ties with Russia.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
