The move was announced by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he paid a visit to Spain, as Wang said that China regards Spain as a good and trustworthy partner in the EU and stands ready to inject new momentum into China-EU relations, Global Times
reported.
Chinese experts said that the move shows the Chinese government's concrete efforts to enhance China-EU trade, a positive signal that China is opening up, amid rising trade protectionism in Europe.
The decision was first declared by Wang during a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Cordoba, Spain on 18 February.
During the meeting, Wang highlighted the broadening of bilateral cooperation into new sectors, including electric vehicles, green energy and the digital economy, and he welcomed Spain to use various trade platforms to increase exports of high-quality products to China.
"Opening-up and cooperation is the endogenous driving force for the development of China-Spain relations," Wang said.
"When you take into account the size of the Chinese market, the impact is going to be extraordinarily positive," Albares was quoted as saying by AFP.