Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attends a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 14 April 2026;
Credit: Haruna Furuhashi/Pool via Reuters
BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Spain pledged on Tuesday 14 April 2026 to deepen ties and safeguard global peace and development amid an international order that President Xi Jinping called "crumbling" in remarks during a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing.
The visit by Sanchez comes as many Western governments are seeking to maintain ties with Beijing despite lingering security and trade tension, as discomfort grows over the policies of key ally, US President Donald Trump.
In "today's world, chaos abounds, and the international order is crumbling," Xi said, adding that deeper ties were in the interests of both China and Spain.
He urged stronger communication and trust to "uphold the rule of law, jointly defend genuine multilateralism, and safeguard global peace and development".
Sanchez said international law was repeatedly being undermined, and called for closer ties to promote peace and prosperity.
"It is more necessary today than ever, and so that together we can establish an even stronger bond between China and the European Union," Sanchez said.
The latest of his counterparts from the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland and Ireland to visit China this year, Sanchez has urged the world's second biggest economy to take a larger role on issues.
These ranged from climate change to security, defence and the fight against inequality, he said on Monday, calling for Europe to redouble its efforts as the United States has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts.
Spain has been one of Europe's loudest proponents of expanding trade and treating China as a strategic ally, rather than the economic and geopolitical rival seen by Trump.
