The Spain-China Business Meeting strengthens cooperation in the industrial, technological and consumer sectors

Group photo of the Spain-China business meeting

More than 400 Chinese and Spanish companies participated in a Spain-China Business Meeting held on Tuesday in the city of Chengdu, with the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation and exploring new joint opportunities in strategic sectors.

The inauguration was presided over by His Majesty the King, and included speeches by the governor of Sichuan province, Shi Xiaolin, the president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Ren Hongbin, and the Spanish Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo.

"Spanish and Chinese companies are already acting as global partners, generating synergies that open up new business opportunities," Minister Cuerpo said. "This cooperation not only boosts our bilateral growth, but also reaffirms confidence in multilateralism and supports open trade and stability in an increasingly interdependent world".

The forum created a networking space with B2B meetings aimed at promoting business alliances and avenues for collaboration in areas selected for their high growth potential. Around 180 Spanish companies and some 260 Chinese companies took part in the event.

The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, through ICEX Spain Export and Investment (ICEX) - an agency under the State Secretariat for Trade - in close collaboration with the economic and commercial offices of the Spanish Embassy in China, and with the support of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. The Chinese CCPIT also participated.

Promoting business cooperation between Spain and China

The Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla, moderated two complementary sessions. The first brought together the President of the Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, and the President of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, in a discussion focused on institutional alliances and business cooperation between the two countries.

The second session, focused on business, was attended by Pan Jian, co-president of CATL-a world-leading Chinese company in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries-and Eugenio Bregolat, CEO of Inditex in China, who shared their views on the current state of trade and investment relations between Spain and China, as well as on their main strengths, opportunities, and challenges.

The meeting addressed the challenges and opportunities for cooperation between companies from both countries along the value chain of various high value-added sectors and in line with the industrial, technological and consumer transformations that mark the global agenda.

China, the world's second largest economy, is a key player in global value chains. It accounts for one third of industrial production and is a leader in technologies essential for the energy and digital transition, such as electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and green hydrogen electrolysers.

Supporting women's leadership abroad

On the occasion of the Business Meeting, a meeting was also held between Minister Cuerpo, Secretary López Senovilla, and the CEO of ICEX, Elisa Carbonell, with a group of Spanish female executives and businesswomen.

The meeting served as an opportunity to exchange experiences on business activity in the Chinese market and to highlight the role of women in the internationalisation of the Spanish economy. Spain has made significant progress in placing women's economic empowerment at the centre of its trade policy, both internally and externally.

Non official translation