On the 11th, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, "There are no winners in a tariff war, and confronting the world will lead to self-isolation." This appears to be a message directed at U.S. President Donald Trump, who imposed a 145% tariff on China. In addition, Xi urged that China and the European Union (EU) should resist the United States' unilateral "bullying" together.
On the same day in the morning, Xi met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing and stated that, "China and the EU are both major global economic entities and firm supporters of economic globalization and free trade," adding that, "Both sides should fulfill their international responsibilities and jointly protect the trend of economic globalization and the international trade environment, as well as resist unilateral bullying and protect legitimate rights and interests, international fairness and justice, and international rules and order."
In response, Sánchez noted, "China is an important partner for the EU, and Spain has always supported the stable development of EU-China relations." He added, "The EU upholds open and free trade, supports multilateralism, and opposes unilateral tariffs, emphasizing that 'there are no winners in a trade war.'"
Sánchez also said, "Faced with a complex and serious international situation, Spain and the EU are willing to enhance communication and cooperation with China to maintain the international trade order and work together to address climate change and poverty issues to protect the common interests of the international community." However, he added, "We believe there is an opportunity to strengthen relations, but it is important for China to show sensitivity to Europe's desire to maintain a more balanced relationship."
The meeting between the two leaders took place amid the United States imposing reciprocal tariffs globally. The U.S. imposed a total tariff of 145% on China and also applied a 20% reciprocal tariff on the EU, along with high tariffs on steel (25%), aluminum (10%), and automobiles (25%). However, the U.S. has suspended the reciprocal tariffs on other countries, excluding China, for 90 days, and the EU has decided to suspend the retaliatory tariffs it intended to apply to U.S. goods.