China’s Vice President Han Zheng Visits Spain to Strengthen Economic and Political Ties

China’s Vice President Han Zheng arrived in Spain on Tuesday for a four-day visit aimed at deepening economic and political relations between the two countries. During his trip, Han will meet with King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, signaling a further strengthening of ties between Spain and China.

Han’s visit comes just two months after Sánchez’s third trip to Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Spanish Prime Minister has been actively working to position Madrid as a key intermediary between China and the European Union, as well as to attract Chinese investment in cutting-edge sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and hydrogen technologies.

One significant outcome of this growing partnership was the announcement last year that automaker Stellantis and Chinese battery manufacturer CATL would jointly build one of Europe’s largest EV battery factories in Spain. This deal marked a major win for Spain as it seeks to establish itself as a key player in the global green energy transition.

However, Spain’s relationship with China has not been without challenges. Beijing’s anti-dumping inquiry into European Union (EU) pork—launched in retaliation for Brussels’ tariffs on Chinese EVs—has had a particularly harsh impact on Spain, one of the EU’s top pork exporters. On the positive side, Sánchez’s recent visit to China helped secure expanded access for Spanish exports of pork stomach, a popular Chinese delicacy that had previously been restricted.

Han Zheng is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Sánchez on Wednesday morning in Madrid, followed by an audience with King Felipe on Thursday. The Spanish monarch is also set to visit China later this year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the signing of a strategic partnership between the two nations.

In addition to his meetings in Madrid, Han will travel to Seville to meet Andalusia’s regional leader, Juan Manuel Moreno, who helped secure more than 2.5 billion euros in Chinese investments for the southern region of Spain last year.

Tourism is also expected to benefit from closer ties with China. Projections from Spain’s tourism lobby, Turespana, suggest that the number of Chinese visitors to Spain this summer will increase by 36% compared to the previous year, making Spain the European destination with the largest growth in Chinese tourism.