MADRID, March 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) –Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez begins on Thursday a visit to China he hopes will show Spain has gained global influence under his watch ahead of a tight year-end general election.
The two-day visit comes as Spain is gearing up to take over the European Union’s rotating presidency in July which will also serve to project the country on the world stage.
Sanchez will attend the high-profile Boao Forum for Asia on the Chinese island of Hainan on Thursday before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
He will be only the second leader of a European country to visit China since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit in 2022.
Sanchez said last week that Xi’s invitation proves “the international recognition given to Spain during a time of such complex geopolitical difficulties”.
Sanchez’s talks will focus on the Ukraine conflict, with Xi trying present himself as a mediator.
The world should listen to China’s “voice” in order to find a way out of the war in Ukraine, Sanchez said ahead of his visit to Beijing.
Sanchez has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and has visited the country twice since Russia’s invasion.
Despite being on the other end of Europe, Spain has welcomed 165,000 Ukrainian refugees, according to Eurostat.
Within the EU, only Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic have received more.
Sanchez, a socialist, has made international affairs a priority since he came to power in June 2018, in contrast to his conservative predecessor.
Sanchez managed in 2019 to get his then foreign minister, Josep Borrell, named as the EU’s foreign policy chief.
Spain’s upcoming presidency of the EU will also be the focus of Sanchez’s talks with Xi.
Sanchez’s taste for diplomacy could also be an asset in the run-up to a general election expected in December, even if the campaign will not focus on international relations.
Most polls put the main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) several percentage points ahead of Sanchez’s Socialists. — NNN-AGENCIES
