Political Lens

Spanish PM to make fourth trip to China in four years

At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will pay an official five-day visit to China starting on Saturday, his fourth trip to China in four years, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning announced on Wednesday.

During the visit, President Xi Jinping will meet with Sanchez, and Premier Li and China's top legislator Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with him respectively, Mao said at a daily news briefing in Beijing.

King Felipe VI of Spain also paid a state visit to China in November, the first by a Spanish monarch in 18 years.

Nation to expand cooperation with Portugal

Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and Vice-President Han Zheng met separately with Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco, speaker of the Portuguese Parliament, in Beijing on Wednesday.

Aguiar-Branco is leading a delegation to China from Tuesday to Saturday.

Zhao said that China is ready to work with Portugal to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, strengthen the alignment of development strategies and expand cooperation in areas such as new energy and the digital economy and deepen cultural exchanges.

Han expressed China's willingness to contribute positively to China-European Union cooperation, as well as to world peace and development, through stable, mutually beneficial and open cooperation with Portugal.