A detailed report by the Israeli daily Mekor Rishon describes Spain as having become China's preferred entry point into the European Union, supplanting Hungary following the April 2026 defeat of Viktor Orbán's government. The article highlights Xi Jinping's fourth meeting with Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez in four years, and cites multi-billion-euro Chinese investments in Spain, including a CATL-Stellantis battery gigafactory in Zaragoza and a Chery EV plant in Barcelona.
The Israeli daily Mekor Rishon published a detailed analysis describing Spain under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as China's new primary gateway into the European Union, a role previously filled by Hungary under Viktor Orbán. The article notes that Xi Jinping received Sánchez in Beijing for the fourth time in four years — an unusually intense pace of engagement — in April 2026. The report characterizes the relationship as symbiotic: China needs a European partner after Orbán's electoral defeat to Péter Magyar in April, while Sánchez's government has made green energy transition and industrial investment core pillars of its economic agenda.
The flagship Chinese investment cited is a €4.1 billion gigafactory in Zaragoza — a joint venture between CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, and Stellantis — which is expected to reach 50 GWh capacity by end of 2026. In Barcelona, Chinese automaker Chery chose a former Nissan plant in the free-trade zone as its first European manufacturing site. The piece frames these moves as a strategic Chinese pivot within the EU, with significant implications for European trade policy and industrial sovereignty.
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