Last week, China and Spain pledged to re-balance their trade ties during President Xi Jinping's state visit. This is a direct result of Madrid’s complaints of a "chronic deficit" with Beijing.
While Spanish exports to China increased last year by 28.3 percent, it still has a trade deficit of €19.4 billion ($22.1 billion), a 2.3 percent increase over the previous year, says the Spanish Foreign Ministry.
"Both sides agree to increase economic openness and boost commercial exchanges in such manner that these will be more balanced and extend to new sectors," the two countries said in a joint statement.
Some 600 Spanish firms are present in China, mainly small companies, although multinationals such as Telefonica, Zara-owner Inditex and major banks like Santander and BBVA also operate there.
The two countries also agreed to boost cooperation between Chinese and Spanish scientists in the field of advanced materials, as Beijing shifts its economy towards competitive, high-end industries.
According to france24.com¸ they also agreed to further open up the lucrative Chinese market to Spanish grapes and its treasured "jamon" cured ham, which is very popular in the Asian country.
Prior to Xi's visit, Spain had said it would not sign on to China's ambitious "One Belt, One Road" initiative that seeks to better link Asia and Europe through a network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks. European countries like Poland and Greece have signed on to the project, but there are considerable fears that it masks an attempted Beijing influence grab.
