OVIEDO, Spain / ISTANBUL 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday said Beijing was a “partner of the EU” as President Xi Jinping said there were “no winners in tariff wars” amid the raging trade war with the US.

Sanchez stressed dialogue between the world’s top two economies.

“Spain’s foreign policy is not against anyone. It is positive, constructive, and coherent,” Sanchez told reporters in Beijing after meeting with Xi.

The visit comes as China and the US remain locked in a tariff dispute, with both sides pledging to tariffs more than doubling the cost of each other’s goods.

Trump’s tariffs on allies and rivals have roiled global markets but US President Donald Trump this week gave a 90-day reprieve to all nations, except China, with a base 10% reciprocal tariffs all across.

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Spain’s suggestion that the EU should get in closer alignment with China “would be cutting your own throat.”

Sanchez rejected such criticism, stressing the need for dialogue over confrontation.

“Trade wars benefit no one. The world needs China and the United States to engage in dialogue,” he said.

“Going against the world will only lead to self-isolation,” Xi told Sanchez, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

“China’s development over the past seven decades is a result of self-reliance and hard work, not favors from others. China does not flinch from any unjust suppression,” said Xi.

However, Sanchez acknowledged that Spain and the EU face a “significant trade deficit” with China.

‘Cooperation, not conflict’

Calling China “an essential partner in addressing shared global challenges,” Sanchez said the trade deficit issue “must be addressed through cooperation, not conflict.”

“No matter how the external environment changes,” Xi told the Spanish premier, “China will remain confident, stay composed, and concentrate on managing its own affairs well.”

He stressed China and the EU “should step up to their international responsibilities, jointly safeguard economic globalization and the international trade environment, and jointly reject unilateral and bullying actions.”

“China and the EU should defend not only their own legitimate rights and interests but also international fairness and justice and international rules and order,” said Xi.

According to Sanchez, the two sides signed four cooperation agreements and two new export protocols related to pork and cherries.

“Since 2018, Spain and China have signed 10 export protocols. We aim to keep opening the Chinese market to more Spanish products,” he said.

Sanchez highlighted that this year is the 50th anniversary of EU-Chinese relations, which also coincides with the EU's drive to deepen cooperation with new trade blocs.

This is Sanchez’s third visit to China since 2023.

The two leaders also discussed climate change, the war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, and rising inequality.

*Islamuddin Sajid contributed to the story from Pakistan