Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler
“China is Spain’s biggest trading partner outside the EU, and the world’s third-largest consumer of Spanish olive oil, behind the US and Europe. It also accounts for 20% of Spain’s pork exports, worth over €1 billion in 2024. In return, Spain has benefited from a substantial increase in Chinese investment since the financial crisis of 2008–10, when Beijing purchased large chunks of Spanish debt. China is now investing heavily in Spain’s rapidly expanding renewables sector. … While strengthening trade relations with China, Spain is also trying to keep a wary US on-side.” (06/05/25)