Spanish PM To Visit China Next Week

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week to discuss China’s peace plan for Ukraine, the Spanish government said on Thursday.

Sanchez will be only the second leader of a European country to visit the nation since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit in November 2022.

He will attend the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan on March 30 before heading to Beijing to meet Xi, the Spanish government said in a statement.

"China can play a very important role in the mediation between Russia and Ukraine, and this will of course be one of the themes" Sanchez will discuss with Xi, Spanish Parliamentary Affairs Minister Felix Bolanos told public television TVE.

Beijing has presented a 12-point position paper on the war which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries' territorial sovereignty.

Xi made a high-profile visit to Moscow earlier this week and met Russian president Vladimir Putin, who praised the 12-point paper.

Sanchez's visit comes as Spain is preparing to assume the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union in July.

Xi and Sanchez last held bilateral talks in November 2022 during the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. (AFP)