Chinese embassy proposes Andalucía as Europe's energy centre

Although in recent years China has made large-scale direct investments in all of Spain's regions, on Friday regional minister of the Chinese embassy Qu Xun stated that Andalucía is "the preferred area for Chinese investment". He said this during his participation in the 'Andalusia, the road to the energy of the future: the contribution of China Three Gorges Europe (CTGE) to the European energy transition' event organised by Cátedra China and the Vocento group (publisher of Diario SUR) and held at the NH hotel in Malaga.

"This region, especially Malaga province, has launched many strategic initiatives, such as the city of intelligence and energy centres, and it has very favourable conditions to develop in many sectors," the diplomat said. These include activities such as the digital economy, electric vehicles and green energy - areas in which Andalucía connects with the Asian giant.

"We can say that China is a world of energy. Not only do we have an abundance of coal, which is no longer much used, but we are also strongly developing green energy, such as photovoltaic, wind and hydrogen. I believe that Andalucía and Malaga also have an advantage in these sectors. Both sides have a strong desire to intensify these cooperations and share technologies to make Malaga and Andalucía the energy centre of Spain and the whole of Europe," Qu Xun said. "We must not hold back our ambitions and that is why Andalucía needs a strong partner like China," he said.

Representatives of state-owned company China Three Gorges Europe (CTGE) also participated in the event. Regarding CTGE, Qu Xun stated that the "priority" for this global energy giant is the Spanish market, in fact, the entire Iberian Peninsula. He highlighted that "energy is the foundation of industry and of Spain's reindustrialisation" and that "easy access to large-scale energy is a key element for a modern industry".

In his speech, the diplomat reviewed the history of economic relations between China and Spain. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Europe and the 20th anniversary of comprehensive strategic relations between China and Spain. "The relations between China and Spain are exemplary: two countries that treat each other with respect, even though they differ in their political system and culture," he said.

He highlighted the shared benefits, among them the business success of the King and Queen of Spain's visit to China. "During that visit, we managed to resolve almost all problems related to access to China and the barriers for Spain's agricultural products," he said.

He also stated that bilateral relations are not exclusively the result of a calculation of benefits, but rather of a friendship that goes back two thousand years, when there were already commercial exchanges between the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty. Relations became stronger in the 18th century and especially in the last 50 years.

"Trade between China and Spain at the beginning was only 20 million dollars, but now it has exceeded 50,000 million," Qu Xun stated. He also acknowledged the trade deficit in exchanges between the two countries. "We have to recognise that there is a big trade gap between China and Spain, but this trade surplus or deficit is a natural product. We are already seeing a lot of direct investment from China to Spain and with this we can reduce these deficits," he said.