[Global Times reporter Bai Yunyi] Editor's note: Spain's attitude towards China and the United States has recently been closely watched by the United States. In April this year, the U.S. Treasury Secretary falsely claimed that Spain's approach to China was "cutting its throat", which was refuted by both China and the West. Some US media reported in July that Spain is "actually the only European country that openly confronts the US government" and has become "one of the friendliest countries to China among European countries." In March 2023, September 2024 and April this year, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez visited China three times. Recently, Madrid, the capital of Spain, has also become the venue of a new round of economic and trade talks between China and the United States. How does Spain view Sino-US relations rationally? What is the difference between Spanish people's perception of China and other European countries? On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the West, a reporter from the Global Times had a dialogue with a number of Spanish friends and China on the above issues.

'Gotta look to what we do better'

Andrés Herrera is the head of a Spanish consultancy company.In 2017, he received an important assignment to help the Navarra Autonomous Region in northern Spain develop a comprehensive cooperation strategy with China to drive more Spanish companies into the Chinese market while helping locally to attract more Chinese investment.

"From my observation, the Navarre government shares the view that (to win) the future, it must establish close ties with China," Herrera told the Global Times reporter in an interview. He said that Spain is a highly decentralized country, which is divided into 17 autonomous regions. In addition to the central government, many autonomous region governments are also developing their own relations with China, which together constitute the "territory" of Spain's exchanges with China today.

Herrera has been helping the Navarre Autonomous Region to develop its cooperation strategy with China gradually since 2019, and has clearly prioritized cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, health, artificial intelligence (AI) and agricultural food industry. Over the past few years, several enterprises, including clean energy enterprises, solar energy, and wine enterprises, have succeeded to Ounawar.

Navarre's interest in China seems to go beyond that. In July this year, a number of economic officials from the region visited Beijing, Shenzhen and Gansu, China, with a view to enhancing their understanding of all parts of China and seeking to promote the development of Navarre's industrial system through cooperation with China. "In Beijing, they are most concerned about the development of AI; in Shenzhen, the delegation visited emerging industrial enterprises such as biology and renewable energy; in Gansu, they participated in an investment and trade fair." As one of the "behind-the-scenes designers" of this visit, Herrera introduced. "The world has changed, and we must look to places that are doing as well as or even better than us." Irujo, Minister of Industry, Ecology and Digital Business Development of Navarre Autonomous Region, lamented after his visit to China.

According to the New York Times, the government of the Autonomous Region of Catalonia set up a specialized department last year to increase investment and trade with China.At the same time, the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, also approved a plan to build a new terminal, which directly connects the rail system of the port of Barcelona to transport China's electric vehicles exported to Europe.

Joseph Gomez, former International Business Manager at the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, now works in a technology park a half-hour drive north of Barcelona, bridging local start-ups to help them connect with the latest technology. In an interview with the Hong Kong South China Morning Post, he said that he observed that more and more cutting-edge innovation in Spain came from China.

¡°In areas such as cybersecurity, the Internet of Things, and AI, China is far more advanced than we are,¡± said Gomez, who has been trying to attract more Chinese investment in the region over the past few years.

¡°Open to China, there are historical reasons behind it¡±

Spain's "olive branch" to Chinese enterprises, especially Chinese technology enterprises, is at the time of trade friction between China and the EU due to electric car tariffs and other issues. Several industry insiders told Global Times reporters that in areas such as electric vehicles, Spain has taken a relatively more open position than European partners such as France and Germany, avoiding geopolitical constraints.

In November last year, the Ebro factory, a joint venture between Chinese automobile manufacturer Chery and Spanish Ebro Company in Barcelona Free Trade Zone, officially started the production of the first model. Chery became the second Chinese car brand after BYD to announce its investment and establishment of factories in Europe. "The opening of the Ebro factory means another closer relationship between Spain's autonomous region of Catalonia and China." Spanish newspaper El País reported.

Coincidentally, at the end of last year, CATL, a Chinese new energy technology company, and Stellantis, a multinational automobile industry group headquartered in the Netherlands, announced that they would jointly build a super battery factory in Zaragoza province in northeastern Spain, with an estimated total investment of 4.1 billion euros.

According to the analysis of The New York Times, Spain is taking a pragmatic approach to allow domestic enterprises to obtain advanced Chinese technology by establishing joint ventures. For Chinese investors, producing goods such as cars in Spain can avoid European tariffs, and Spain has long-standing cultural and economic ties with other Spanish-speaking countries, which means that it can also become China's gateway to Latin America. China's direct investment in Spain has been growing over the past decade.

Herrera believes that there are historical reasons behind Spain's more open attitude towards Chinese investment-Spain has never had a direct conflict with China, and Spanish enterprises have a "pragmatic character", which is less ideological than other western enterprises.

"In Spain, there is less political pressure to develop economic ties with China than in the United States or Britain. Although there is some controversy, there is no general anti-China sentiment in Spanish society. I think Spanish society is more curious and interested in China than prejudice." Herrera told the Global Times reporter. He also cited the government of Navarre Autonomous Region as an example: "Since the government of the autonomous region began to systematically develop relations with China in 2017, I think they have adhered to a pragmatic China policy: opening up markets, attracting investment, creating opportunities, and managing differences through dialogue."

Speaking to the Global Times, renowned Spanish China expert Julio Rios said that China and the West are easier to cooperation breakthroughs in the areas of renewable energy and parts of AI: China is a global leader in solar panels, wind turbines and energy storage cells, while Spain has an advantage in power grid management, renewable energy and offshore wind projects, which creates conditions for both sides to cooperate. However, he believes that in 5G and telecommunications, the cooperation between the two sides may be restricted by the ¡°Atlantic safety standards¡±.

¡°Spain has an international issue that can easily be politicized, but China is not in it.¡±

¡°Spain is an interesting case.¡± ¨C U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) recently quoted analysts as saying that Spain is the few European countries that dare to openly take a different stance from the United States on issues such as building closer ties with Beijing and publicly rejecting NATO military spending thresholds.

In an interview with a reporter from the Global Times, Rios said that in recent years, Europe is gradually moving towards a more conservative stance, and many governments have largely shown obedience to pressure from the other side of the Atlantic. In this sense, today's Spain belongs to the "minority" in the EU. He believes that Spain's attitude towards China is related to the pragmatic diplomacy pursued by the country.

¡°While Spain has not given up on ¡®value diplomacy¡¯, pragmatism has always been the main line of our foreign policy,¡± said the Spanish Chinese scholar, who said that the Spanish perception of China has always been dominated by the judgment that China is seen as an important economic opportunity. At the same time, China is also considered a reliable and stable partner.

In his view, cooperation with China is a ¡°strategic choice¡± for Spain, he explained that in Spanish society,ining positive and normal relations with China has become a widespread consensus, and that hostility is just a marginal sentiment in bilateral relations. At the same time, China-Western economic and trade relations have become an important pillar of Spanish foreign trade and still have huge potential in the field of high added value.

¡°In Spain, international issues that can be politized include Palestine, Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina, and sometimes even Morocco ... but China is not in it. Unlike many other European countries, Spanish discussions about China are mainly focused on the economic level,¡± said Javier Bolas, a China researcher at the Barcelona Center for International Affairs.

"China and the United States will always be the focus of the Spanish government and society"

Interestingly, the attitude of Spanish society towards the United States and China seems to be experiencing a trend of "trade-off": the poll data released by the Royal Elcano Institute in July this year shows that the Spanish people's affection for China surpasses that of the United States for the first time; A poll conducted by Pew Research Center in the United States this summer also showed that in Spain, respondents with a positive view of China were 6% higher than those with a positive view of the United States.

Rios believes that the above results are mainly related to the recent U.S. government and its policies, which are extremely unpopular among a significant portion of the Spanish society. This trend is relatively reversible if the U.S. takes other approaches, and transatlantic relations are always a strategic priority for Spain. However, Rios also said: ¡°Spanish attitude toward the U.S. has always been influenced by the historical burden, such as the American War of 1898, or U.S. support for Franco¡¯s dictatorship during the Cold War, these shadows have not disappeared until now.¡±

¡°On the other hand, this also reflects Spain¡¯s new perception of China ¨C not only the recognition of China¡¯s position on the global stage, but also the support and solidarity it has shown to Spain in some complex situations.For example, China bought Spanish bonds during the 2010 EU debt crisis, which was nothing more than a lifesaver for Spain,¡± Rios recalled to reporters.

Herrera explained to reporters, ¡°Spanish people don¡¯t like the role of ¡®campus bullying¡¯, which is why Spain is dissatisfied with the current U.S. and Israeli governments,¡± but it should not be overlooked that America¡¯s ¡°presence¡± in Spanish society is still stronger than China, whether in the fields of culture, education, technology or military.

¡°Another question is whether Spain¡¯s interest in China will last?¡± said Herrera to the Global Times, ¡°In Spain, it¡¯s easy for people to shake in fascination and prejudice about China.

"At the same time, if our cooperation is limited to investment and trade, the future space will be very narrow. Only when bilateral cooperation expands to scientific research, culture, education, tourism and other fields can this kind of cooperation be truly sustainable." Herrera said, for example, that during the epidemic, Gansu Province of China provided medical supplies to Navarre when it needed help most, which laid a more solid foundation for the subsequent cooperation between the two places. "Navarre will not forget (Gansu's good deeds)".

Rios believes that China and the United States will always be the focus of attention of the Spanish government and society, despite the adjustment brought about by the rotation of political parties. If competition between China and the United States intensifies in the future, Spain's consistent neutral attitude or "middleman" role will be tested. While maintaining this positioning will become more difficult, it is not entirely impossible.

"In this sense, I think Spain will continue to play a'bridge 'role in China-EU relations, pushing the two sides closer in policies and strengthening dialogue and cooperation." Rios told the Global Times reporter, "We are in a period of high turmoil, but for China and Spain, each other is a strategic choice worthy of long-term adherence."