Last Friday, Spain was among the large economies who signed onto a French position paper sent to the European Commission that called for the bloc to bolster its trade defenses, make greater use of its investigative capacities and potentially create a new tool to address market distortions.
But as first reported by POLITICO, within a few days Madrid appeared to get cold feet and began insisting the document, which was additionally co-signed by Italy, the Netherlands and Lithuania, had only been discussed at the technical level.
Spain is often seen as one of the most China-friendly EU members. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has visited Beijing four times in as many years, and the country is among the most receptive to Chinese investment, particularly in the solar panel and automotive sectors.
The new line from Madrid comes on the eve of a highly anticipated debate among European commissioners that seeks to kick off a rethink of the EU’s ties with China and to suggest measures to protect the bloc’s industries, which are being squeezed by a flood of ultra-competitive Chinese exports.
Cuerpo on Thursday called for greater engagement with Beijing.
“We understand that the EU needs to step up, and that means that we need to talk, from equal to equal, on an equal footing with China and the U.S.,” he said in response to a question from POLITICO on the margins of a meeting of ministerial colleagues from the EU’s six largest economies — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland. “We need to engage with the Chinese authorities.”