Exclusive | Spain’s top envoy to China says New Silk Road won’t solve ‘substantial’ trade gap
- Spanish ambassador Rafael Dezcallar de Mazarredo calls on Beijing to open its market and level the playing field, ahead of EU-China summit in Brussels
- He also urges China to take more responsibility by reviewing its trade practices
Spain’s top envoy to China has called on Beijing to open its market and level the playing field to close the “substantial” trade gap between the two countries.
The Spanish envoy’s call came ahead of a key summit between Chinese and European Union leaders in Brussels on Tuesday, when bloc members are expected to raise what European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called China’s unfair trade practices.
During Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe last week, Juncker reportedly told the Chinese president that “it cannot remain that Chinese companies have free access to our markets in Europe, but we do not have access to the markets in China”.
Dezcallar expressed similar concerns, calling the trade gap between China and Spain “substantial”.
“The [belt and road projects] are contributing to the Spanish economy, but we have problems in our trade balance with China,” the Spanish ambassador said. “We would like to find ways to solve it. [But] I don’t think the belt and road is a way to solve that problem.”