China's economy shows significant signs of recovery: Spanish experts

BARCELONA, Spain, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's economy is displaying positive signs of recovery following the challenges posed by the pandemic, as highlighted by experts in Spain from academic, business, and institutional domains with engagements in China.

"The indicators show that there will be a recovery" although challenges still remain, Just Castillo, professor of East Asian Studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told Xinhua in an interview on Monday.

"China is now looking for ways to reincentivize the economic links it has with different regions around the world, including Europe, with such interesting measures as removing the need for visas to visit China," added Castillo.

Sedal Group, a prominent Spanish company specializing in components for the faucet and sanitary industry, stands as an exemplary European firm with significant investments in China, manifested through production centers in the southern Guangdong Province.

"We have to expand in China. We've already grown, and in the past nine years we've doubled the size of the company, and now we're preparing for the next stage of growth," Ramon Guixa, general manager of Sedal Group, told Xinhua.

"The Chinese government has always given us support. We are a hi-tech company in China and the government supports companies that are thriving and growing," added the firm's general manager, who stressed the importance of institutional help for foreign businesses.

Marta Ortiz, a representative of Air China's sales department in Spain, expressed optimism about China's efforts to strengthen and consolidate economic ties with Europe, specifically in the aviation sector.

"Since March we've noticed a big change with the opening up of China. It began slowly but now it's picking up and the prospects for the next few months are good, and no doubt there will be an increase in economic, cultural and social exchanges," she told Xinhua.

The European Union and China stand as each other's principal trading partners. China surpassed the United States to become the EU's largest trade partner in goods in 2020, with 2023 statistics revealing that China accounted for 9 percent of EU goods exports and 20 percent of EU goods imports, as per data from the European Commission.

"China and Europe are partners, and we're trying to be good partners instead of rivals. We believe that the Chinese economy and the European economy are complementary to each other," Hu Aimin, China's acting consul general in Barcelona, told Xinhua at a recent press event to explain China's trade relationship with Europe and Spain.

"We are taking measures to attract foreign investment. For example, we are giving foreign companies in China national enterprise treatment, so that they will be treated equally with Chinese companies," added the acting consul general as an example of the efforts.

China and Europe recently reaffirmed their commitment to their trade relationship at the first in-person China-EU summit since 2019 that took place on Dec. 7 in Beijing. During this summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang held talks with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen.