A cargo flight carrying about 1.3 t of Spanish blue-fin tuna landed at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport; within hours the fish had cleared customs and was on sale in China. “A Mediterranean jewel on a Chinese dinner plate in under 24 hours—this speed shows how fast our two economies are converging,” Spanish weekly Triángulo commented.

Trade is breaking records and moving faster. January-November 2025 two-way merchandise trade exceeded US$50 billion, up 9.1 % on 2024. Olive oil, ham, wine and citrus are reaching Chinese consumers in ever larger volumes, while Spanish showrooms are filling with Chinese EVs, batteries and machine tools.

Faster, fresher, cheaper
Shenzhen Customs keeps tuna at a constant 2 °C and uses blockchain traceability; clearance time has been cut by half. Similar fast-lane and cold-chain systems now cover Spanish fruit, olive oil and wine. The Madrid-Yiwu rail service, running since 2014, moves Iberian wine and olive oil eastbound and Chinese small appliances and auto parts westbound in 18 days.

Platform power
At CIIE 2025 Spanish ham and oranges sold out in days; Madrid and Beijing co-hosted a China-Spain trade-and-investment match-making fair this year. Road-shows for Spanish wine have toured half a dozen Chinese cities.

Made-in-China EVs on Spanish roads
A Chinese-Spanish JV plant in Barcelona, launched by Chery at end-2024, is already assembling its first model. In July 2025 BYD’s plug-in hybrid topped Spanish sales with a 10 % share. Chinese batteries, solar modules and wind components are flowing in, while Spanish engineering firms provide project-management know-how.

Industrial depth
In September 2025 Shanghai’s Machine-Tool Industry Alliance and Basque core firms set up a China-Spain machine-tool supply-chain centre, targeting joint R&D on five-axis machines and precision parts. In November CATL and Stellantis broke ground on a €4 billion LFP battery plant in Aragón that will run on 100 % renewable power and start production in late 2026.

Green horizon
China Chemical Engineering 13th Construction signed a contract to build Spain’s biggest advanced bio-fuel plant in San Roque, using waste animal and vegetable oil to produce aviation, shipping and road fuel. Chinese capital plus Spanish engineering is becoming a template for EU green projects.

Mutual confidence
“Spain Inc. sees China’s economic outlook as positive,” State Secretary for Trade Amparo López Senovilla said recently. “Amid rising protectionism, deeper co-operation with China in advanced manufacturing and high-value chains is vital for Spain—and for Europe.”

From farm produce to EVs and next-generation energy, the partnership is generating technology complementarity, industrial linkage and cultural exchange. As Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez puts it, the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership “has deepened for years; today we are giving it fresh momentum.” Built on this solid base, new business formats and growth drivers will open still wider space for companies and bring more tangible benefits to both peoples, making the China-Spain partnership more strategic and dynamic.