Xi says China and Spain should forge closer ties to oppose 'law of jungle'

BEIJING — China and Spain should strengthen cooperation to oppose a return of the world to “the law of the jungle,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday. Xi made the remarks in his meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is on an official visit to China. Noting the world today is in turmoil, confronted with the contest between the rule of law and the rule of power, Xi called on both China and Spain to jointly defend true multilateralism, according to the Xinhua news agency. The meeting between the two leaders comes on the second day of Sanchez’s visit as he seeks to position Spain as a bridge between Beijing and the European Union, whose relations with the United States are under strain. The visit by Sanchez comes as many Western governments are seeking to maintain ties with Beijing despite lingering security and trade tension, as discomfort grows over the policies of key ally, US President Donald ⁠Trump. In “today’s world, chaos abounds, and the international order is crumbling,” Xi said, adding that deeper ties were in the interests of both China and Spain. He urged stronger communication and trust to “uphold the rule of law, jointly defend true multilateralism, and safeguard global peace and development”. Sanchez said international law was repeatedly being undermined, and called for closer ties to promote peace and prosperity. “It is more necessary today than ever, and so that together we ‌can ⁠establish an even stronger bond between China and the European Union,” Sanchez said. The latest of his counterparts from Britain, Canada, Finland and Ireland to visit China this year, Sanchez has urged the world’s second biggest economy to take a larger ⁠role on issues. These ranged from climate change to security, defence and the fight against inequality, he said on Monday, calling for Europe to redouble its efforts as ⁠the United States has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts. Spain has been one of Europe’s loudest proponents of expanding trade and treating ⁠China as a strategic ally, rather than the economic and geopolitical rival seen by Trump. The Spanish prime minister is on his fourth visit to China in four years and follows a steady flow of Western leaders visiting Beijing in recent months as Trump’s tariffs and unpredictable foreign policy have rattled the US’s traditional allies. — Agencies