Why are the EU and China getting closer, and why are various parties in the EU dissatisfied?

How are Spain and China getting closer, and why are the EU countries dissatisfied? - Author, Katya Adler - Role, BBC European Affairs Editor - Published - Reading time: 5 minutes In the streets of Barcelona, a Chinese dragon, red and gold, (the people inside must have been sweating profusely) danced amidst the joyous crowd. Acrobat performers from China caused gasps with their rolling, throwing, and soaring of spherical lanterns. As if by magic, the candles inside the lanterns remained upright. Shanghai set a new record this week, becoming the first Asian metropolis invited as the host city for the "Barcelona Holy Innocents Festival." This famous cultural festival is known for its lively and boisterous atmosphere, with its large street parades primarily showcasing Catalan traditions passed down for hundreds of years. Therefore, the scene before us is particularly rare: Catalan flutists, dressed in velvet attire, walked gracefully along Barcelona's main avenues. The medieval melodies they played mingled with the melodious sounds accompanying groups of Chinese performers. The Deputy Mayor of Shanghai, Lu Shan, flew to Barcelona to attend the opening ceremony of the "Holy Innocents Festival" and gave a speech. He stated that while the cultural traditions of China and Catalonia differ in form, they share a "common spirit." Spain and China are currently in a period of mutual appreciation. However, this friendly atmosphere is far from universal consensus within the EU. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met with Chinese President Xi Jinping four times over the past four years. Since Trump was re-elected two years ago, he has urged the EU to improve its relationship with China. Sanchez's actions have caused dissatisfaction among some European partners. These countries view Beijing as a strategic competitor and believe China may pose a geopolitical threat to the EU. They privately question whether opening the Spanish market to Chinese companies will make China an "economic enemy" within the EU. Sanchez is not the only leader who has deviated from the EU's established course. The global situation is volatile, causing many EU countries to feel pressured and unprotected. They are also uncertain whether the United States remains reliable under Trump's administration. Trump's trade and defense policies are seen as unpredictable and sometimes aggressive. Therefore, member states are beginning to choose strategic partners according to their own needs, even if this alienates or angers other EU countries. Could these newly formed alliances lead to a permanent rift in the unity of the EU, and even NATO? Spain is accused of pursuing private interests. Germany and France, the two most influential EU countries, have recently joined forces to support a tougher stance against China. They hope to give Brussels stronger means to exclude Chinese competitors, which receive government subsidies, from the EU market to address the widening trade imbalance with Beijing. The European Commission stated that this imbalance is as large as an astonishing €10 billion (850 million pounds) daily. Other EU countries are concerned about China's close relationship with Russia. Beijing denies providing assistance to Moscow in the war in Ukraine, but defense experts point out that China provided technological and economic support, which they believe allowed Russia to continue its military offensive. For this reason, when Spain actively seeks closer ties with Beijing, it is accused of protecting its own interests rather than broader European interests. Victor Cortizo, a lawyer and scholar specializing in the relationship between China and Spain, stated: "This is somewhat like the chicken or the egg problem. Is Spain distancing itself from its European allies, or are they distancing themselves from us?" "I think it is more us (distancing ourselves from allies), Spain, but this action has its justification. Real politics indeed exist. If I attract Chinese investment and boost the domestic economy by getting closer to China, then strategically it is more attractive than supporting those allies who only care about their own interests." When I spoke with Cortizo, stacks of shipping containers surrounded him. This was the end point of the longest railway line in the world. The railway spans over 13,000 kilometers, connecting Yiwu in Eastern China and Madrid, mainly transporting car parts and electronics to Spain, and bringing back Spanish ham, wine, and other specialties to China. This railway also symbolizes the growing closeness of the two countries' relationship. Cortizo told me: "Our Prime Minister has decided to prioritize national interests over EU relations. In the past year alone, China's investment in Spain has doubled." Increased Chinese Investment According to data from the Spanish government's Trade and Investment Agency, the Spanish investment in China is rapidly growing, with investment in new large-scale battery factories and automobile manufacturing plants being particularly prominent. Cortizo believes that as Viktor Orban, who is pro-China, is no longer in office, Spain may replace Hungary to become Beijing's most favored investment destination in Europe. During Orban's tenure, Hungary was known as the "gateway for China into Europe." Cortizo told me: "US investment is declining, while the importance of Chinese investment is increasing." The United States remains Spain's largest single source of foreign investment, but according to Spanish Ministry of Economy data, net investment has decreased by about €1 billion. Now, the Spanish society's attitude towards China is much more positive than towards its traditional ally, the United States. According to a poll released by the Pew Research Center this summer, 54% of Spaniards hold a positive view of China, while 30% hold a positive view of the United States. Cortizo stated that doing business with China is relatively easy. In contrast, Trump's tariff policies, along with the impact of the Iran war, make doing business with the United States much more difficult. The Spanish public also sees that Trump threatened economic sanctions against Sanchez. This was because Sanchez refused to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP as Trump demanded, and he disagreed with allowing the US military to use bases in Spain to attack Iran. Therefore, in the eyes of many Spaniards, China is more trustworthy than the United States. Two years ago, when the Chinese automobile manufacturer Chery chose Spain as its first European manufacturing and operating hub, it breathed new life into the previously dormant Spanish automotive brand Ebro. "Chinese companies are investing in the Spanish automotive industry, filling our existing gaps," Cortizo said. But critics worry that Chinese companies setting up plants in Spain will weaken the EU single market. In Spain, it is not just Chery. China's battery and fixed-energy storage company Haichen Energy is investing in Navarre in the north of Spain, and battery manufacturer CATL is participating in the construction of a lithium iron phosphate battery super factory in Zaragoza. Zaragoza is less than 200 miles from Barcelona. Critics fear that these projects are Chinese companies trying to localize production within the EU to evade tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicle imports. However, Miguel Otero, a China affairs expert at the Royal Institute of Catalonia, criticized that the attitude of Spain's European allies is condescending and false. He told me: "France, Italy, Germany, they all maintain strategic relations with China. Spain is not further along than them. We are just catching up to them." He stated that in fact, Europe can no longer rely entirely on the United States, so Spain's primary task is to achieve diversification. It not only wants to do business with China but also to develop commercial relations with Canada, Brazil, India, and Africa. He said that Spain is not particularly obsessed with China. However, there are also problems in terms of security. When Sanchez visited Beijing for the most recent time in April this year, he met with Mingyang Smart Energy, the founder of a Chinese wind power generator manufacturer. Not long ago, the company's plan to build the largest wind power generator plant in the UK, and England, was rejected due to national security concerns. Previously, in 2023, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior granted a contract worth €12.3 million to the Chinese technology giant Huawei for storing and managing sensitive judicial surveillance data, which caused widespread controversy in the EU. Members of the European Parliament from several political groups stated that this contract by Spain could endanger the entire EU. Markéta Gregorová of the Czech Pirate Party stated in February: "When you introduce a high-risk supplier... we are not just facing localized data leakage risks, but potentially undermining the foundation of the European intelligence sharing system." She belongs to the Green Party group. Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez, a member of the Spanish center-right opposition party, said this decision puts "the entire EU at risk." The Spanish Ministry of Defense still denies any risk. However, Julianne Smith, a former US Ambassador to NATO, warned that the incident could seriously weaken European cohesion. She is also a co-founder of the geopolitical consulting firm Clarion Strategies. She told me: "When EU countries try to guard against the risks posed by an unreliable and inconsistent America, they must be cautious and not hastily turn to alternatives that could weaken the collective power of the EU." "Some of these increasingly close relationships may bring actual returns, such as the rapidly developing relationship between Canada and the EU." she said. "But some relationships may have the opposite effect. Spain's decision to deepen ties with China may further hinder the EU from speaking with a unified voice, and will also lead Spain and the entire Europe to face more security vulnerabilities." More Emerging Alliances Spain is not the only EU country that has formed alliances with controversial partners. Finland borders Russia and shares a land border of 1,300 kilometers. Since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this has made Finland feel vulnerable in its situation. The per capita ownership rate of firearms in Finland is the highest in the EU. It has the largest reserve army in both the EU and NATO. Finland even leaves explosive charges in bridges to destroy them when Russian armored vehicles enter. It is a country that believes military readiness is necessary for survival. In 2022, Finland believed that a large population provided security. Helsinki abandoned the traditional policy of strategic neutrality and quickly joined NATO. However, people are now worried that if a member state is attacked, Washington may not fulfill the NATO collective defense clause. Because they no longer trust that the US will always help when needed, Finland has turned to Israel to purchase advanced defense equipment, including the "David Stone" air defense system and "Long Nail" anti-tank missiles. During the most intense phase of the recent Gaza war, Finland continued its contract with Israel. At that time, the Finnish government had publicly expressed considerable reservations about Israel's actions in the occupied territories of Palestine; many other EU countries also felt uneasy about Israel's policies and actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Minna Alander, a researcher on transatlantic defense and security projects at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), said: "Finland holds a view that we do not always have the moral superiority to maintain it. Survival has a price." "Due to Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank, the Finnish people and opposition parties indeed question whether they should support the country's defense industry," she said. "But the Finnish government has always avoided participating in this debate, stating only that the deal with Israel meets Finland's needs." Alander said that fundamentally, her Finnish compatriots hold a "less emotional, more rational mindset." The Transformation of Greece Greece also feels the threat from a much larger and neighboring country. Nick Malkoutzis, co-founder of the political analysis website MacroPolis, told me that Greece views Turkey as a "continuous and significant threat to its national security and sovereignty." In the past, the United States acted as a mediator between the two countries. Both were NATO members. However, insiders from NATO indicated that under Trump's leadership, the US has become increasingly absent in political and diplomatic matters, with Washington's attention focused elsewhere. At the end of August, Greece signed one of the largest defense export agreements in the history of the two countries. The "Achilles Shield" agreement provides Greece with technology from Israel to protect Greece against various threats, including drones, aircraft, and missiles. Greek society has long sympathized with Palestinians, and many are suspicious of the growing closeness between Greece and Israel. However, Malkoutzis said that the reaction of the public and political sphere to this "super-agreement" is calmer than expected. He said the reason is that Greek society has a basic consensus: in the face of Turkey, the state must strengthen its security guarantees, and this need must override other considerations. Since Israel is a close ally of Washington, Greece hopes that "buying Israeli products" will help maintain good relations with the United States, even in this turbulent period. However, this is a delicate balance, because according to Malkoutzis, both Greece and Finland strongly wish to be seen as "excellent Europeans," contributing to the overall interests of Europe. He stated that the EU countries are seeking different paths, making it more difficult for all parties to reach consensus and speak with a unified voice on defense and security issues, which runs counter to the goals the EU and NATO claim to seek to achieve. Nevertheless, it is not new for European countries to pursue common interests through smaller coalitions. The E3 group, comprising the UK, Germany, and France, was initially formed in 2003 to coordinate diplomatic negotiations with Iran, hoping to reach a nuclear agreement. Now, it is more like a more flexible channel of communication between the three largest military and economic powers in Europe. Nordic and Arctic countries also have their own cooperation frameworks to promote regional defense; and the "Visegrad Four," comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, has been a widely known pressure group within the EU for many years. However, NATO and the EU both believe that the European continent is under unprecedented immense pressure since the end of World War II. The leaders of the two organizations say that Europe must now build a unified front. A belligerent Russia is making threatening low growls outside the door, and Beijing supports this. At the same time, the United States, the former closest external ally, seems to have its attention divided by other priorities. They believe that division, fragmentation, and the prevailing "multipolarity" will only make the opponents of Europe applaud. China and Russia are closely watching the development of events. Main image source: PA / Nur Photo via Getty images This article was originally written in English, we used artificial intelligence for translation, and it was reviewed by BBC reporters before publication.