Chinese investment in Andalucía estimated at more than 2.5 billion euros

Speaking from China to Andalucía's Canal Sur Radio on Tuesday 4 September, the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, estimated that investment that China has committed to "so far" in Andalucía, specifically in six of the eight provinces, amount to more than 2.5 billion euros.

Moreno, who has been on an official visit to China since 27 August, explained that he is very "enthusiastic about the welcome" that the Chinese authorities are giving the Andalusian delegation.

The regional president is heading a trade mission, along with business leaders from Andalucía "to intensify, basically, the economic relations that exist between China, which has 1.5 billion inhabitants, and Andalucía".

"And in this objective, so far, the investments that have already been committed in Andalucía exceed 2.5 billion euros spread over six provinces," said the president, who is confident that the figure will increase in the remaining days of meetings in China.

"This shows that when you work, when you invest and when you sow, in the end you reap something," said Moreno, who pointed out that the Junta has been working for more than a year on this official visit to China, both with companies and with the Chinese Embassy.

The president said that the agenda in China has been "intense, long and complex", but that he is confident that it will generate not only investment, but also "highly qualified" jobs "throughout Andalucía". He went on to say, "It is very important to generate trust and complicity with the world's second largest economy."

The president also referred to the possibility of a direct flight between China and Andalucía, a region that receives many Chinese tourists, who "spend more and stay longer".

As such, Moreno has indicated that there is a real possibility that there could be a weekly flight to Seville or Malaga, either from Shanghai or from Beijing. The destination airport is still to be decided and it would be a decision of the Chinese airline, according to the president.