Xi Jinping Tells Sánchez: China and Spain Should Uphold Multilateralism, Peace

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday that China and Spain should stand together as "rational" nations to defend multilateralism and reject what he called the "law of the jungle" in international affairs, as Beijing seeks European support amid an escalating trade confrontation with Washington.

The meeting in Beijing came as the United States has imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting China to rally allies across Europe and the developing world. Xi framed the China-Spain relationship as a partnership between two responsible powers committed to rules-based diplomacy, urging Madrid to resist protectionist pressures and help preserve an open global trading order.

"Both China and Spain are rational countries," Xi was quoted as saying, according to Chinese state media. He called on both nations to uphold international law, oppose unilateralism, and support the United Nations-centred world order at a moment of rising geopolitical turbulence.

Sánchez, making his second visit to China in under two years, brought a delegation of Spanish business leaders and signalled Madrid's intent to deepen economic ties with Beijing. Spain has been among the more China-engaged members of the European Union, even as Brussels navigates its own trade disputes with Chinese electric vehicles and industrial goods.

For Gulf states, including Qatar, the rhetoric of multilateralism and sovereign equality resonates strongly. Doha has long championed a world order in which small and mid-sized nations are free to pursue independent foreign policies without coercion — a principle that underpins Qatar's own diplomatic identity as a mediator and dialogue hub. The Gulf state has repeatedly called for international institutions to be strengthened rather than sidelined.

Yet the meeting drew scrutiny over the gap between Beijing's declared principles and its caution on the Palestinian question. While Xi spoke of rejecting the law of the jungle and upholding the rights of nations, China's concrete support for Palestinian self-determination has remained measured, stopping well short of the unequivocal recognition that the Palestinian Authority and Arab states have sought. Critics noted the irony of invoking sovereignty and multilateralism while the people of Gaza endure a campaign that much of the international community has condemned as a fundamental breach of those very values.

Beijing has called for a ceasefire in Gaza and backed a two-state solution in general terms, but has refrained from the kind of direct political pressure on Israel or the United States that its stated principles might suggest. The gap between China's soaring multilateral rhetoric and its measured diplomacy on Palestine is one that Arab observers, including those in the Gulf, continue to watch closely.