The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, begins an official trip to Vietnam and China this week with a strong commercial focus, aiming to increase sales of Spanish companies in these countries amidst the tariff war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The goal of the trip is to balance trade relations with both countries—currently, they sell much more to Spain than they buy—and it takes on special ignificance in the current context, according to government sources, who hope to achieve progress that facilitates the entry of Spanish companies from various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agriculture, into the Chinese market.
In Madrid, preparations for the trip have been underway for months since Sánchez visited Beijing in September 2024 and President Xi Jinping invited him to return in 2025. The reason is the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which regulates bilateral relations across a wide range of topics signed in Madrid in 2005 during the visit of then-President Hu Jintao.
Sánchez departs for Vietnam along with a group of Spanish businesspeople—who will be present during the first part of the trip but will not attend the China leg—this Monday night, although he will not begin his agenda until Wednesday, April 9, in Hanoi.
Finally, on Friday, April 11, he will be in Beijing, where he will first meet with Chinese investors and then hold a meeting with his counterpart, President Xi. Vietnam exports €5.2 billion to Spain annually and only imports €530 million. With China, the disparity is even greater: they sell €45 billion and purchase only €7.4 billion from Spain. This difference between imports and exports to Beijing accounts for more than 70% of Spain’s total trade deficit.
