EU dilemma
Sánchez’s journey highlights the divisions within the EU on how to react to the aggressive pricing regime of US President Donald Trump.
Some of the Bloc leaders recommend turning away from the United States and forging closer links with various global partners, but others argue that the block is better to stick to Washington.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who insists that Europe must keep a “pragmatic, constructive and open approach” of the White House, should go to the Oval Office next week to prove its value as “Trump Whisperer”.
The Spanish Prime Minister said that he had spoken to the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the EU trade commissioner Šefčovič before the visit. Friday, South China Morning Post, based in Hong Kong, reported that EU leaders planned to meet Xi in China in July.
The last summit of this type was held in Beijing in 2023 and the protocol would normally require that the next edition takes place in Brussels. The will of the EU to ensure that China plays the host again suggests that the leaders of Europe are eager to please XI and to use the summit – which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of EU -China relations – to forge stronger links with Asian superpowers.
In Beijing, XI defended close relations with Spain, which, according to him, was increasingly important “the more turbulent and volatile” the international situation “. According to hernchez, the two leaders spoke at length about global cooperation and the determination of the EU to guarantee “just peace” in Ukraine.
Beijing is the last stop in an Asian tour that also saw Sánchez meet the Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The trip was used to obtain agricultural agreements with Hanoi and locking lucrative agreements involving exports of pork and cherry to China.
