Trade before rights

On his state visit to China earlier this month, Pedro Sánchez was praised by Xi Jinping for leading Spain with "moral rectitude". Apparently unaware of the corruption scandals engulfing Sánchez's government, Jinping must have had in mind the Spanish premier's stance on Israel and the US, whose respective wars in Gaza and Iran he condemns for violating human rights and international law.

That vaunted "moral rectitude" was on display again this week, as Sánchez urged the EU to break all its trading and diplomatic ties with Israel. "A government that violates international law or the principles of the EU", he announced at a rally in Andalucía, as the region gears up for a crucial election next month, "cannot be its partner." Ireland and Slovenia backed Spain in a meeting of foreign ministers on Tuesday, but the proposal failed to secure the unanimous approval required.

It's strange, then, that during his visit to Beijing, Sánchez didn't mention human rights once. The purpose of that trip was to seek stronger economic ties with China, in order to reduce the vast trade deficit that separates it from Spain. In a meeting described as a "complete success" by a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, both leaders agreed to strengthen relations in areas ranging from technology to agriculture, and safeguard international law and order against the evil embodied by Donald Trump.

The massive elephant (or dragon?) in the corner, representing China's somewhat patchy human rights record, was not referred to. Amidst all the trade-talk, Sánchez must have forgotten to challenge Jinping on his treatment of the Muslims of Xinjiang, defined by the UN as a "crime against humanity"; or the suppression of free speech in Hong Kong; or the repression of Tibetans; or the terrifyingly named "Great Firewall", the world's most advanced online censorship system; or the frequent arrest of Catholics belonging to an "underground" church loyal to the Vatican, rather than the official Communist-run alternative.

In fairness to Sánchez, he's not the only leader putting trade before morals in his dealings with China's Communist government. Ahead of his visit to Beijing in January, Canada's president Mark Carney was urged by Human Rights Watch to make such issues the focus of discussion. One of the international charity's main concerns was that Canadian law forbids the import of goods that are wholly or partly manufactured with forced labour. But Carney, like Sánchez, didn't mention human rights.

One is led to a rather cynical, but surely accurate, conclusion: that while Sánchez can afford to display "moral rectitude" over Israel, he can't risk a trade war with China, like the leaders of most other major economies. Trade trumps rights in the new world order.