Economy

Biggest Chinese business park opens in Spain

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-18 14:18

MADRID - The biggest Chinese business park in Spain opened Thursday in the town of Fuenlabrada, just south of Madrid.

The "Plaza de Oriente" (Square of the East), located in the Cobo Calleja industrial estate, which already houses many Chinese owned businesses and warehouses, mainly trades clothes imported from China.

The park cost around $50 million to build, and houses 80 Chinese-owned companies in an area of 40,000 square meters. Overall the center will lead to the creation of around 1,000 jobs.

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A second phase of construction will create a space for a further 250 companies and a luxury hotel.

Zhu Bangzao, the Chinese ambassador to Spain, attended the opening ceremony along with Spanish Public Works Minister Jose Blanco and the Fuenlabrada Mayor Manuel Robles.

Dragons, balloons and music were all present in a colorful opening ceremony after which Blanco gave a speech in which he applauded China's economic growth, which has made the country the second most important economy on the planet.

"China is no longer the world's factory. It is now the marketplace of the world. For that reason, China gives an opportunity to Spain, but Spain has also to offer opportunities to China and for that reason our country has to increase its competitiveness," Blanco said.

"Commercial exchanges between our two countries have continued growing in recent year, with China now being Spain's fastest-growing import and export market," he said.