UK Media: Spain's Rationality in the Tariff War
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Beijing two weeks ago. Last year, Spain was the fastest-growing developed economy and is expected to remain so this year; it is also the only developed economy whose growth forecast has been upgraded by the International Monetary Fund. This is built on green energy, foreign labor entry, tourism, as well as significant investment and technology transfer from China. The United States expressed dissatisfaction with this visit and had a "frank" discussion with Finance Minister Carlos Calvo.
Carlos Calvo seemed unperturbed. He told me at the Semafor World Economic Summit in Washington: "[Spain] has a huge trade deficit with China, and we need to correct this by opening up to China and attracting Chinese investment, of course within the framework of overall economic security. This can only be achieved through engagement with Chinese authorities and actual dialogue."
Spain has already reaped significant results from Chinese investments in electric vehicle factories and technology transfer. The U.S. is not pleased with this. It is difficult to see the strategy of persuading Spain and the EU to maintain their long-term reliable ally status in the fight against China over the past month amidst the tariff accusations and chaos.
Source: BBC
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830686710955017/
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