The King devoted the third and final day of his official visit to China to emphasize the economic nature of the trip and send a message of support to Spanish companies in China. “The best environment for every company is one in which legal security prevails and commercial and investment decisions can be made over a long period of time,” defended the young Felipe VI during an intervention at a bilateral economic forum. “The very complex geopolitical framework in which we move requires us to be realistic,” he admitted.
The King also visited the facilities of Gestamp, a Spanish multinational company specializing in the design, development and manufacture of metal components for the automotive sector. Originally from Borgal and born in 1997, it arrived in China in 2007, and from this country it manufactures chassis, bodywork and battery boxes. The company sees “an opportunity right now for the electric car,” commented Antonio Lopez, the authorized advisor for the Asian division, in a conversation with reporters in the moments before the royal delegation broke out like a whirlwind at the company’s factory outside Beijing. “Being in China has opened up some things for us,” Lopez says. “Before, it was knowledge transfer from abroad to China, now it is from China to abroad.”
The company has 13 factories, R&D centers and more than 5,000 employees across the country. Through a Joint venture With BHAP, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned BAIC, which produces and supplies domestic electric vehicle manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Li Auto; And also for European brands such as Mercedes, with an important presence in the Asian giant.
“Here we are,” says the King at the company door, with nothing more than the official car, made in China, the Hongqi (Red Ribbon), popular among the country’s senior officers. “Is it Minister (Carlos) Cuerpo?” the then Minister of Economy asked, beginning one visit after another. Luigou, with safety glasses on, the delegation filed through the factory amid the hydraulic whirr of mechanical arms of Kuka (a German-based robotics company that acquired a Chinese multinational in 2016), as he coached them on industrial materials and processes, and a lone Chinese worker marked off pieces with a pencil at the feet of the giant-looking robots.
China’s technological leadership in the electric vehicle sector is just a summary of the official visit: it shows the profound change the country has witnessed in recent decades, and the business and investment opportunity in both directions; But at the same time, it highlights the challenges facing the European Union, which protests barriers to accessing the Chinese market, condemns unfair competition, and has imposed restrictions on goods coming from the Asian giant since 2024.
His Majesty the King held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which he stressed the “strong relationship” between the two countries. After the interview, a contract of agreements and conventions was signed.
Last July, Felipe VI confirmed that Spain is increasingly present in China, where it is valued “as a constructive and reliable society,” he said during a speech in the final act of the trip, a reception for the Spanish community at a hotel in Beijing. But he once talked about the challenges. “China has now become a major actor on the international scene, facing enormous challenges and continuous transformations. Spain maintains a fruitful, European and sound dialogue with it,” he said, before insisting that the country would continue to defend its values: “democracy, international rights, human rights and multilateral cooperation.”
The number of registered residents of the Spanish colony in China is about 5,200 people in a country with a population exceeding 1,400 million people. Los Reyes Han sent their appreciation to these immigrants for their contribution. “Spain is present in the world thanks to people who, like you, establish valuable relationships every day: in the commercial, scientific, educational, cultural and institutional fields,” says Felipe VI, who recalls how the agenda of the last three days also had a noticeable cultural, as well as institutional and economic, character.
During Felipe VI’s visit to the factory, Queen Letizia attended a meeting with Spanish students at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (known as Byway in Chinese and BFSU in English), the first to introduce the profession of Spanish philology among the Asian giant and recognized for being a diplomatic Kuna. Hundreds of students waited for Letizia Ortiz to arrive with their cell phones ready to capture this moment. He chanted amid cheers and applause, while some were waving the flags of other countries. “It fascinates us,” several university students asserted in these memoirs before their arrival.
During his speech, the university’s president, Jia Wenjian, highlighted the “strategic vision” that the communist authorities had to follow for the benefit of Spanish education in the 1950s. Later Spanish teachers, at a time when Pekin sought to expand his contacts with more of his immediate allies. These back-and-forths, born of intellectual connections, allowed us to teach the language and shape the first generation of Chinese Hispanics. This morning’s event was dedicated specifically to these pioneering teachers.
Chinese Vice Minister of Education, Ren Yuquan, stressed that interest in the Spanish language continues to grow in the country and asked to continue expanding exchanges between the two countries. For his part, Dean of the College of Spanish Studies, Zhang Fuliang, stressed that “knowing the Spanish language in China has become a fashion.”
In the minutes leading up to the meeting, several university students shared their reasons for choosing to study philology. In addition to literature — the works of Granada’s Federico García Lorca have been an inspiration to many — art — “Picasso, Dali” — and architecture — “Gaudi,” students have been cited by the contemporary artist, Rosalía, and his latest album. Lux.
Founded in 1941, Byway It is one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in China, specializing in foreign languages – Catalan is also on the curriculum – and international relations. The Spanish language has been around since 1952. “With appreciation and gratitude in the study, dissemination and teaching of the Spanish language. With all affection,” Larraina initialed in the guest book.
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