Alex Trelinski
PEDRO Sanchez arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday in the first-ever official visit by a Spanish Prime Minister.
The Spanish Air Force plane landed at Hanoi with Sanchez accompanied by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Jose Manuel Albares and Agriculture Minister, Luis Planas.
Official meetings will start on Wednesday with the country’s top figures.
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Sanchez will spend two days in Vietnam before heading on to Beijing on Friday for a day’s visit to China.
The Vietnam trip comes as a timely coincidence with the Donald Trump tariffs of 46% imposed on the Asian country.
The Spanish government said the visit had been planned well in advance and has nothing to do with the tariffs, though they will be a key part of talks.
Sanchez is keen to boost business in Vietnam for Spanish firms, with 12 representatives of companies that already do business there making the journey as well.
Last year, Spain imported €5.2 billion of goods from Vietnam, but sold them just €530 million of items in a major misbalance.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister will chair a bilateral business form in Ho Chi Minh City and talk with representatives of Spanish companies that have a foothold in the country.
The firms include Indra, Airbus, Roca, Porcelanosa, Acciona, Melia, Grupo Antolin, Siemens Gamesa, El Corte Ingles and Acerinox.
Friday’s visit to China will be Sanchez’s third in as many years.
Last September, he announced a reversal of Spain’s position in support of the EU imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Since then, Chinese investments in Spain have been confirmed including in a factory by battery maker CATL and a factory to make electrolysers for green hydrogen production by Envision.
EV producer Leapmotor, lithium battery maker Sematec and Chinese electrolyser manufacturer Hygreen are reported to be weighing further projects.
Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Monday that China would be a key strategic partner for Spain and Europe.
“I believe that this message of Spain’s that the Prime Minister has been advancing for some time is being increasingly accepted and shared by the rest of the EU member states,” he commented.
