Xi invited the Spanish prime minister to pay a state visit to China next week

MADRID — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping to pay a state visit to Beijing as Xi tries to shore up China’s peace proposal for Ukraine.

Sánchez plans to be in China on March 30-31, Spanish Presidential Minister Félix Bolaños said late Wednesday, citing Xi’s “possible mediation in the war in Ukraine” as the main reason for the visit.

Spain will take over the presidency of the European Union in July, and Sánchez has presented his nation on the world stage as a NATO ally of Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, where he attended an EU summit on Thursday, Sánchez said he would “find out first-hand what (China’s) position is for peace in Ukraine and convey the message that the Ukrainians will be the ones to create the conditions.” for peace.”

He plans to hold trade meetings during the Boao Forum for Asia on China’s Hainan Island on March 30 and then travel to Beijing to meet Xi on March 31, Sánchez’s office said.

“China and Spain enjoy a sustained, solid and stable development of relations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Thursday when asked about the premier’s visit. “The two leaders maintain good communication,” he added, without giving further details.

Xi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week to promote Beijing’s peace plan for Ukraine, which Western nations have dismissed as unviable. Putin said it could be a basis for ending the fighting if the West was ready, but added that Ukraine’s Western allies had shown no interest.

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