BARCELONA, July 1 -- The China Construction Bank (CCB) opened its first branch in Spain in the Mediterranean city of Barcelona, the bank announced on Wednesday at a ceremony held in the Palau de Pedralbes.

Guo You, Chairman of China Construction Bank's board of supervisors, said Spain was a key connection in the bank's international strategy in southern Europe.

He highlighted the fact that China was Spain's most important trading partner outside the European Union (EU) and said the CCB aims at reinforcing trade cooperation between Spain and China and contributing to Spain's economic development.

Former Spanish ambassador to China, Eugenio Bregolat, also attended the ceremony at which he highlighted the economic power of China, its fast economic growth and its ability to deal with the economic crisis.

China's ambassador to Spain, LV Fan highlighted the importance of the event, which was encouraging for the two countries' cooperation.

Barcelona's branch will support Chinese businesses working in Spain, but also local businesses, especially those that have a connection with China. The branch is located at Avenida Diagonal, 640 and so far has hired 20 workers.

CCB is the second largest bank in the People's Republic of China and it is the second largest bank in the world by market capitalization (207.9 billion U.S. dollars). It has more than 14,800 branches in China and other parts of the world, such as Singapore, Tokio, New York or London.