Visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in Beijing on Tuesday that Spain and China have elevated their political dialogue to the highest level in nearly 53 years, forging a closer ties in bilateral cooperation.

Sanchez made the remarks at a press briefing regarding the outcomes of his current official visit to China from April 11 to 15.

"With this visit in 2026, we have gone a step further and established a strategic dialogue, which is the mechanism China uses to maintain a closer and more stable relationship with countries. During this visit, I met with 36 Chinese business leaders and asked them to invest in Spain and establish partnerships with our companies," Sanchez said.

"In addition to this economic agenda, Spain aims to expand and diversify its relations with China in many areas. Therefore, on this trip, we also signed eight cooperation agreements in the fields of science, innovation, university education, culture, and an aspect to which both the Spanish and Chinese governments attach particular importance -- the management of biodiversity," he said.

The Spanish prime minister pointed out that countries can develop relations on the basis of mutual respect, practical cooperation and shared prosperity. As a core member of the European Union (EU) and one of Europe's fastest-growing major economies, the prime minister added, Spain believes Europe should strengthen communication and cooperation with China on the basis of safeguarding EU interests.

"I firmly believe that it is in the interest of Spain and Europe to strengthen ties with China. We should build positive agendas with China, while developing a relationship featuring openness, respect, pragmatism and shared prosperity. This is Spain's ambition, and also, an objective of our foreign policy, which is to strengthen ties, to build bridges, and not the opposite. What we want is to actively contribute to the creation of a new global order that will definitively bring long-lasting peace to the world," Sanchez said.

The Spanish prime minister's current China visit comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. Sanchez opposed the U.S. military operations against Iran and rejected a U.S. request to use Spanish military bases for operations related to Iran. During the press briefing, Sanchez also said that peace is a shared goal and Spain would work with China to firmly uphold international law and the international order.