“We are willing to further strengthen cooperation with the Spanish parties”

Europe continues to discuss how to deal with China. Spain, meanwhile, has already opened all its doors. Several times. The International Department of the Chinese Communist Party (an organ of the Party, not the State) has made Madrid a mandatory stop for its parallel diplomacy. At the end of January, Vice Minister Ma Hui toured the offices of the PP, the PSOE, the PCE and the Catalan Generalitat. No one closed the door.

Why is it important. China is not looking for ideological allies in Spain, what it is looking for is access. Their strategy is to build relationships with whoever governs today but also with whoever can govern tomorrow. The CCP’s International Department maintains contacts with more than 600 parties around the world because it does not understand colors, only influence. And Spain, due to geography, economy and political predisposition, has become its bridgehead in southern Europe.

Between the lines. Zapatero once again appears as a key piece of this network. Ma Hui, a veteran diplomat and former ambassador to Cuba, met him first, before anyone else. It is not coincidental.

The former president maintains recurring contacts with CCP structures, appears at Party-sponsored forums in Beijing and operates as an unofficial facilitator. A role that raises questions about transparency and red lines in international relations, especially for someone without official position but with privileged access, which we now know is is on the payroll of a Chinese manufacturer to help it deploy in Europe.

The contrast. Trump has based part of his legislature applying tariffs and generating uncertainty with them. China, meanwhile, has wanted to position itself as its opposite, as a guarantor of tranquility. It has presented its Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) in Madrid as a model of stability.

Yes, but. Spain is moving with respect to China faster than the rest of Europe. Pedro Sánchez plans his fourth trip to Beijing between April 13 and 15. And this pace makes Brussels uncomfortable because it is trying to coordinate a common European position towards China.

Spain can clearly benefit economically from this stance, but at some point we will have to ask ourselves what we are giving up in exchange.

The money trail. China no longer only pursues markets in Spain, it pursues political legitimacy:

• Ma Hui participated in a forum Chinese Chaira think tank geographically close to Atocha but strategically very close to Beijing.
• These spaces, halfway between academia and propaganda, normalize the Chinese presence in European decision-making centers.
• They say they want to “learn about state management.”
• In reality, they build a network of interlocutors that facilitate their strategic interests.

¿Main loser? The common European position. If Madrid negotiates on its own, Valencia too, and Barcelona the same, China does not need to convince the European Union. It is enough to fragment. Bilateralize what should be multilateral.

And Spain, with former leaders operating as unofficial liaisons, facilitates that strategy.

In Xataka | China has found a way to gain influence in Africa without shooting a single shot: build ports as if there were no tomorrow

Featured image | Jordi Moncasi, Li Yang