Sánchez praises international cooperation and highlights Spain as a "constructive and responsible" ally in China

MADRID, 30 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has warned of the "global challenges of an unprecedented scale" that humanity is facing and has assured that "nobody wants economic fragmentation or war" during his speech at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), the first stop on his two-day visit to China.

"Humanity is facing global challenges of an unprecedented scale: climate change, the pandemic and Russia's brutal and illegal aggression against Ukraine which is causing a huge humanitarian food and security crisis, inflation and rising debt in a large number of vulnerable countries," he denounced.

It is the third international diplomatic visit of the president in the last week, after the Council of Europe in Brussels and the Ibero-American Summit in the Dominican Republic, some meetings that he has affirmed all have a common thread: "In less than a week I will have met with more than 40 world leaders from three different continents. And I will be clear, in every conversation I have heard the same yearning for peace, stability and prosperity. No one wants a fragmented economy or war."

The president has celebrated the "intensification of the diplomatic contacts of the Chinese authorities with leaders from all over the world", something that "reflects a high degree of responsibility" and that is the only solution to current global challenges, he has assured.

"In this context, the international community needs constructive and responsible players, and that is what Spain wants to be. To begin with, as an open and trustworthy country, but also as the next presidency of the European Union, being part of the community Ibero-American and being an active member of all the large multilateral organizations", stressed Sánchez.

"Today, more than ever, the global economy needs reliable partners that can be trusted. Spain is and will continue to be one of them," he promised.

Relations between Asia and Europe, he has assured, "do not have to be confrontational", and both continents must focus on being allies, "economically and beyond".

The president has highlighted three areas of bilateral collaboration: strengthening multilateralism, the fight against climate change and the reformulation of a common financial structure.

He has also assured that, although "some say that we are in a process of deglobalization", he believes that what is changing is "the way in which we perceive this globalization". The important thing, he has ruled, is "to open up the East so that the West does not have to turn in on itself."

Sánchez also had words to praise the relationship between Chinese and Spanish companies on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Madrid and Beijing, which since then "have changed a lot".

In addition, he has ensured that "China is the largest supplier for Spain, and Spanish suppliers have their largest Asian market in China, highlighting Asian investors in engineering companies in our country.

On Friday, Pedro Sánchez will travel to Beijing and will be received by the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, at the Great Hall of the People, where they will hold a bilateral meeting. He will later meet with President Xi Jinping and end his visit with a talk with the leader of the National People's Congress of China, Zhao Leji.

Throughout his trip, Sánchez will also meet with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, AstraZeneca and Mitsubishi, as well as Chinese tour operators and businessmen based in China.

From the Government, the importance of this visit is highlighted for the moment in which it takes place, since it will be the first by a European leader with Xi after Beijing put forward his twelve-point proposal for peace in Ukraine and, above all, , after last week's meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.