China, Spain vow to uphold multilateralism

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) meets with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, in Madrid, Spain, on Sept. 3, 2020. (Xinhua)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met here Thursday with senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi, both vowing to uphold multilateralism.

During his meeting with Sanchez, Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, recalled Chinese President Xi Jinping's successful visit to Spain in 2018, when Xi and Sanchez drew a new blueprint for China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership.

According to Yang, the two countries respect each other's development path and regard each other's development as an opportunity.

In the face of COVID-19, he said, the two countries have worked together to fight the epidemic, which fully proves that China and Spain are sincere partners and friends.

Yang, who is also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said China is ready to work with Spain to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and develop bilateral relations into a model of mutual respect, exchanges and mutual learning, and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries.

He called on the two sides to maintain high-level exchanges, consolidate political mutual trust and continue to support each other's core interests and major concerns.

China and Spain need to expand bilateral trade and investment and tap the potential of cooperation in green economy, digital economy and other fields, he said, adding that China is ready to import more Spanish agricultural products.

Yang urged the two countries to strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, deepen mutual learning among civilizations, promote joint research and development of vaccines and drugs,and build a global community of health for all.

China and Spain need to jointly uphold multilateralism, uphold international equity and justice, and improve global governance, he said, expressing the belief that Spain will continue to play a constructive role in promoting the development of China-Europe relations.

For his part, Sanchez said Spain attaches great importance to developing relations with China strategically, and President Xi's successful visit to Spain has facilitated an important development in bilateral relations.

Spain thanks China for the assistance and support in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanchez said, adding that the fight against COVID-19 has brought all countries closely together and helped strengthen Spain-China relations.

Sanchez said Spain is willing to enhance exchanges and cooperation with China to further explore the Chinese market, and welcomes investment from Chinese businesses.

Sanchez noted that Spain, the European Union and China all firmly support multilateralism and need to strengthen communication and coordination. There is great potential for EU-China cooperation, and Spain will actively participate in and promote it, he added.

Also on Thursday, Yang held talks with Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha Gonzalez Laya.