The chords of El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla marked the end of a day in which Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Head of State, Felipe VI, made an effort to showcase the willingness to strengthen relations between the two countries. After the morning meetings and the bilateral summit, Xi welcomed Don Felipe and his wife back to the Great Hall of the People for a gala dinner. The night ended with the debut of the Royal Theater orchestra at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
At half past six in the evening, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia arrived at the impressive building where the official welcome took place in the morning. Doña Letizia changed her gray coat for a black and white dress, and Don Felipe was dressed in a suit. Around a hundred people shared this dinner with classic local dishes such as Peking duck or fried lobster. Don Felipe stated he was "delighted" with how the visit was going and "deeply grateful for the hospitality" of the Chinese people. A praise for the "hospitality" that contrasts with the many restrictions and limited access to information that the hosts actually offer to journalists, whom in the morning they tried to prevent from hearing the King's first intervention in its entirety, under threats of revoking accreditation.
In the evening, Don Felipe reviewed the 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. "More than half a century of travels, encounters, agreements: building an institutional channel for a relationship between our peoples that dates back to the times of the Silk Road," emphasized the Monarch. He then presented some data highlighting mutual interests. He mentioned that China is Spain's main trading partner outside the European Union, that Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world by natives behind Mandarin Chinese, and that Spain is a priority destination for Chinese tourists. That's the present. But Don Felipe wanted to talk about the future.
"In a complex and uncertain geopolitical framework, Spain believes it is essential to preserve a world order based on rules, multilateralism, and cooperation," warned the King, acknowledging that "in the dialogue on how to address major global challenges, China's voice and commitment have and will have enormous importance."
During the dinner, Xi, accompanied by the First Lady, Peng Liyuan, delivered a fraternal speech: "A well-forged friendship erases distance. In Spain, it is said that, he who has a friend, has a treasure. I am convinced that the friendship between Spain and China will last forever." The Chinese leader spared no praise for the Royal Family for "promoting the relationship between both countries for a long time" and reiterated the current opportunity to strengthen cooperation.
From the Great Hall of the People, the Kings and the Xi couple moved to the National Center for the Performing Arts in China. It is a futuristic building erected in 2017 by architect Paul Andreu facing Tiananmen Square, juxtaposing tradition with the most modern. While its exterior features an imposing dome of titanium and glass, inside, the venue houses three large spaces: an opera house, a theater, and a concert hall, with a total capacity for over six thousand people. Since its opening, it has been the stage for national and international productions of opera, dance, theater, and symphonic music, establishing itself as the main hub for performing arts in China.
For the first time, and as part of the internationalization strategy of the Royal Theater, Spanish works have been performed in this temple of music. The concert was led by Gustavo Gimeno, the new musical director of the Royal Theater, and featured the participation of soprano Sabina Puértolas, who also accompanied the orchestra in its first concert at Carnegie Hall in New York, and whose successful performance in La Traviata was one of the highlights of the past season at the Madrid coliseum.
Spanish music took center stage in a program composed of El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla; the "Canción del ruiseñor" from the zarzuela Doña Francisquita by Amadeo Vives; "Las hijas del Zebedeo" by Ruperto Chapí, and "Me llaman la primorosa" from El Barberillo de Sevilla by Manuel Nieto and Jerónimo Jiménez.
The Chinese First Lady was a well-known lyric singer in the country before her marriage. In fact, when she visited Spain in 2018 on a State visit, the Queen accompanied her to discover the intricacies of the Royal Theater. Peng was seen enjoying Spanish music, smiling and showing interest, also following some explanations from Doña Letizia.
Thus ended a decisive day to strengthen relations with China. This Thursday, Don Felipe will attend the Spain-China Business Advisory Council meeting and visit the Gestamp factory on the outskirts of Beijing. Meanwhile, the Queen will attend an event promoting Spanish at the University of Foreign Languages and later, together, they will host a reception with representatives of the Spanish community in the country.
Chinese state media have extensively covered the visit of the Kings, highlighting that the "growing trust" between China and Spain is strengthening Madrid's role as a "major partner" of Beijing in the European Union, while other EU nations "maintain more caution and distance in their relations with China."
The Chinese state news agency Xinhua published a note emphasizing that "China and Spain share similar ideas on many important international issues." It added that both countries are "an important and positive force for defending multilateralism, maintaining rules, free trade order, promoting open cooperation, and improving global governance," referring to the Spanish government's multipolar vision aligned with Xi's administration against the protectionism of the United States led by Donald Trump.
This is also the assessment made by officials from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted by this newspaper, who echo their supreme leader's words that from now on, both countries will "promote more pragmatic cooperation." They point out that trade relations will rise to a higher level because Xi has committed that Beijing "will import more high-quality Spanish products," an old demand of Spanish authorities to reduce the chronic trade deficit and deepen trade in high-value-added sectors.
"For the Chinese government, Spain demonstrated that its friendship was sincere with two gestures: abstaining in the EU vote on tariffs on Chinese electric cars and its public stance against the abuses of the United States, sharing China's positions in defense of multilateralism against empires seeking hegemony," say Chinese diplomatic sources.
From Beijing, they praise that relations between Spain and China have increasingly shifted towards a political and strategic level. Evidence of this is the reformulation of the bilateral relationship in Spain's 2025-2028 Foreign Action Strategy, the government's framework document defining Spain's priorities on the international stage. In its latest update, for the first time, China appears alongside the United States as a priority strategic partner. "China is an essential actor in global governance," the document states.