MADRID, April 13 (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez begins his fourth visit to China in as many years on Monday, underlining his determination to steer an independent course that has riled U.S. President Donald Trump https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump/.
Spain has been one of Europe's loudest proponents of expanding trade and treating China as a strategic ally rather than the economic and geopolitical rival that Trump sees it as.
The repeat visit highlights Sanchez's determination
not to align himself nL8N40S0AA with Trump — who has heavily criticised Spain for denying landing rights to U.S. forces in the war with Iran and for its relatively low defence spending - and threatened to punish nL1N40R0WB uncooperative NATO military allies.
Sanchez's approach is popular with voters, but has unnerved firms and opposition politicians who fear that friction with the U.S. administration could be costly for Spain.
FOCUS ON GEOPOLITICS RAISES EYEBROWS IN SPAIN
A government source who was not authorised to speak to the media said Tuesday's meeting with President Xi Jinping would focus on geopolitics, and that Spain sees China as a stabilising force.
Yet Ramon Gascon Alonso, Asia-Pacific coordinator of Spain's Exporters' and Investors' Club, said this focus could further harm trade burdened by Trump's tariffs on imports from the European Union, and "make our already precarious situation much worse".
"The United States is the leading foreign investor in Spain," he said. "We have a significant volume of trade with the United States in sectors that are central to our economy – absolutely vital."
Sanchez stands out among European allies as an outspoken critic of the U.S. and Israeli military campaigns.
A senior opposition source advised against any further criticism while Sanchez is in China, accusing Sanchez of tangling with Trump for domestic reasons and putting at risk NATO unity and the U.S. military presence in Spain.
Chinese ambassador to Spain Yao Jing said warm relations had encouraged Chinese companies to invest.
"Spain is more reasonable in dealing with China," he said. "It has its own judgment, its own interests, it wants access to Chinese markets. So we do business."
CHINESE INVESTMENT IN SPAIN SURGES
Chinese firms invested 643 million euros in Spain in 2025, up from 149 million a year earlier, data from the Economy Ministry shows, bringing the total to 9.7 billion euros between 2010 and 2025, primarily in extractive industry and the energy sector.
Xi will this time fete Sanchez and his wife Begona with a formal banquet, while he will also meet with China's premier, Li Qiang, and top legislator Zhao Leji during the three-day visit.
On day one, Sanchez will visit the headquarters of tech giant Xiaomi and host a forum for Spanish and Chinese energy, infrastructure, bioscience and technology firms. He will also meet with international relations specialists and make a speech at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
Madrid hopes the visit will help narrow a trade deficit that has more than doubled in four years to nearly $50 billion in 2025, looking to boost agricultural and manufacturing exports to offset high volumes of Chinese imports.
Still, Sanchez is not taking a business delegation with him this time, and no major deals are planned.
Officials do, however, hope to sign a regionalisation agreement for Spanish poultry exports affected by bird flu outbreaks. A similar deal for the pork industry is credited nL8N3X40GP with staving off a major blow to one of Spain's most lucrative exports during a recent African swine fever outbreak.
(Reporting by Aislinn Laing, David Latona and Charlie Devereux; Writing by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
