The Japan Times - Spain PM heads to China, Vietnam as US tariff blitz bites

The trip comes as the European Union rethinks its global trading relationships amid turmoil caused by the US import duties announced last week that have sent world markets into a tailspin.

Sanchez is to arrive in Hanoi on Wednesday for talks with Vietnam's top leader, To Lam, on the same day Trump's 20 percent tariffs on EU products come into force.

On Thursday, he will travel to Ho Chi Minh City, the Asian manufacturing powerhouse's commercial capital, to meet with business leaders.

The Socialist prime minister then heads to China for his third visit in just over two years, where he is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Chinese investors on Friday.

China and Vietnam currently sell much more to Spain than they buy.

Trump last week announced he would hit China with an additional 34 percent tariff on top of a 20 percent levy imposed this year. On Monday, he threatened additional tariffs of 50 percent from Wednesday if China did not withdraw its retaliatory measures.

Vietnam, where Sanchez will make the first official visit by a Spanish prime minister, is to be hit with a thumping 46 percent tariff.

- 'A mistake' -

Sanchez broke with the rest of the EU on his last trip to China in September 2024, urging the bloc to reconsider plans to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric cars and calling for a "fair trade order".

The EU argued that the tariffs were necessary to protect European producers from unfair competition from state-backed Chinese firms.

China reacted by launching a probe into imports of EU pork products. Spain is the bloc's biggest exporter of pork products to China.

Sanchez "has tried to present himself as a bridge between Brussels and China and to be one of the voices calling for pragmatism" that puts the economy first, said Ines Arco, an Asia specialist at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, a think tank.

Spain's conservative opposition and media have however accused Sanchez of acting on his own and without coordination with Brussels.

"It's a mistake to want to switch from the United States to China overnight," said Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of Spain's main opposition conservative Popular Party.

- 'Level playing field' -

Brussels, however, has recently signalled that it wants smoother ties with Beijing.

After Trump's return to the White House in January, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called for "constructive engagement with China".

And the bloc's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, recently visited China to "promote a more balanced and cooperative trade relationship".

The "clear objective" of Sanchez's trip is to increase Spain's exports to China, given the huge trade imbalance that exists, said Miguel Otero, a senior analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute think tank in Madrid.

Spain buys some 45 billion euros ($49.1 billion) of goods from China per year, its fourth-largest trading partner, but sells it just some 7.4 billion euros.

Sanchez will also seek to attract more green tech investment after Chinese carmaker Chery announced last year it would open its first European electric car factory in Barcelona.

Another major Chinese carmaker, BYD, is mulling a new investment in Europe after opening an electric vehicle plant in Hungary, and Spain could be a candidate, said Arco.

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Monday that Madrid wants to reach "negotiated agreements" with China "to open up our markets, but always with a degree of protection... our companies, our industries should play on a level playing field".

S.Fujimoto--JT