“In such a complex global context, the Spanish government is firmly committed to opening up our country and also Europe to Southeast Asia,” said Pedro Sánchez in Hanoi, in a statement alongside the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, broadcast on the Spanish government’s social networks.

Sánchez said that the Spanish government is developing a “new foreign strategy” to “strengthen ties” with countries with “the dynamism and importance” of Vietnam, which has become “a power on the Asian continent” and “a growing protagonist on the international stage”.

“Spain is committed to an international order based on rules, free trade and economic openness and believes that trade wars not only benefit no-one, but harm everyone,” he said.

The Spanish government has emphasised in recent days that Sánchez’s visits to Vietnam and China were coordinated with the European Union (EU) and were already planned before Trump’s announcements.

The same sources recognised, however, that the trip has taken on a new relevance in the context of recent days.

At the meeting between Sánchez and Pham Minh Chinh, Spain and Vietnam signed several agreements to strengthen bilateral relations, both politically and economically and commercially, with the aim of establishing a “comprehensive strategic relationship”.

In addition to trade, Spain has attracted significant Chinese investment in recent years. According to official figures from the Spanish authorities, Chinese companies have invested more than 10 billion euros in the country for the production of electric cars, along with other projects in the field of batteries or electrolysers (used in the production of so-called green hydrogen).