Spain’s role in Chinese infrastructure drive tops agenda for Xi Jinping’s visit to Madrid
- Madrid may be cautious about any agreement on Beijing’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ as EU concerns persist about Chinese investments
- But Spanish companies keen on Chinese projects, while country needs foreign cooperation after past debt crisis
Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for Spain to endorse the “Belt and Road Initiative” and consolidate China’s ties with Europe when he visits Madrid next week before his planned talks with US President Donald Trump.
Spain’s royal palace announced Xi will stop in Madrid on November 28 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Chinese-Spanish relations, and will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who was sworn into office in June. Xi is also expected to visit Portugal.
The trip will precede Xi’s arrival in Argentina for the G20 summit, where he will meet Trump to discuss China-US tensions triggered by their trade war and security confrontations such as South China Sea disputes.
Analysts said Sanchez may take a more cautious attitude towards Chinese investment after it ballooned rapidly under his predecessor Mariano Rajoy. Chinese investment in Spain grew from less than 10 million euros (US$11.4 million) per year before 2012 to more than 1.6 billion euros in 2016, according to independent research provider Rhodium Group.
“The new government is a bit more concerned about a sell-out,” said Jan Weidenfeld, head of the European China Policy Unit at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, citing widespread European concerns about growing Chinese investment in Europe.