HONG KONG — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday (April 13) said China should take on a more substantial role with issues including climate change, security, defence and the fight against inequality, adding that Europe will also have to redouble its efforts as the US withdraws from leadership roles on many fronts.
Sanchez, who is making his fourth visit to China in four years, spoke at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
His visit comes as many Western governments seek to maintain engagement with Beijing despite lingering security and trade tensions. It follows visits to China earlier this year by the prime ministers of Britain, Ireland, Canada and Finland.
Spain has been one of Europe's loudest proponents of expanding trade and treating China as a strategic ally rather than an economic and geopolitical rival.
Sanchez said China could do more in terms of fighting climate change, promoting global health, controlling the development of responsible artificial intelligence as well as nuclear weapons.
"For example, by demanding as it is doing, that international law be respected and that the conflicts in Lebanon, Iran, Gaza and the West Bank and Ukraine cease," he said.
"Europe will also have to redouble its efforts, especially now that the US has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts."
Sanchez is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday where they are expected to focus on geopolitics.
China accounted for 74 per cent of Spain's total trade deficit, Sanchez said, adding that co-operation was important to build a "balanced, globalised economy that generates shared prosperity."
Madrid hopes Sanchez's visit will narrow Spain's trade deficit, which more than doubled in four years to nearly US$50 billion (S$63.7 billion) in 2025.
It is looking to boost agricultural and manufacturing exports to offset high volumes of China's imports.
China's official news agency Xinhua on Monday said Sanchez's visit was set to further consolidate bilateral ties and pointed to a broader pathway for steady engagement between China and Europe at a time of growing global uncertainty.
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