A New Reality in International Politics: China's Gaze

Debate organized by Cátedra China, the Rafael del Pino Scholars Association of Excellence and the Columbia University Alumni Association in Spain.

China's Ambassador in Spain, Mr. Wu Haitao

For some time now, there have been geopolitical upheavals that we have all witnessed. These changes in the international arena are motivating new debates on the line that the European Union, and by extension Spain, should follow in this new international context. For this reason, in recent years, and in particular since the constitution of the new European Commission, the European Union has been committed to advancing in the development of its strategic autonomy and to reviewing the principles and values that prevail in international relations.

Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Spain, Mr. Yao Fei

With this scenario in mind, the EU is advocating to modernize the transatlantic relationship with the arrival of Joe Biden to the White House after four years in which the term of Donald Trump strongly eroded the relationship with its European allies and the American administration gave turning back on major international agreements such as the Paris Agreement or the abandonment of the World Health Organization during the pandemic. Likewise, the EU is slowly beginning to look towards China with curiosity and moderation in a movement that aspires to generate great alliances to consolidate the multilateral system of global governance to respond to the main problems of the planet such as the fight against climate change, terrorism, or support for developing countries, among others.

In this sense, the celebration of the webinar "A New Reality in International Politics: the look of China" takes place on February 25, an online event co-organized by the Rafael del Pino Association of Scholars of Excellence, China Chair and Columbia Alumni Club Spain with the aim of promoting knowledge of culture, society, politics and the Chinese vision of the world.Thanks to this webinar, more than 200 attendees, many of them young national leaders in the fields of economics, business , from international relations and politics, interested in understanding the new geopolitical reality of which Spain will be part, have been able to know first-hand, thanks to the Chinese Embassy in Spain, the vision of the Asian country regarding global challenges and the bilateral relationship.

Consequently, this act has represented a moderate look at the reality of a bilateral relationship that had passed under the radar: only in October of last year did we realize that China had become the first commercial partner of Spain and the European Union. Thus, “it is in our own interest to know more about China, about this Sino-Spanish link. And starting from our European affiliation and our historical transatlantic link, try to find spaces for dialogue on common interests: international security, the fight against climate change and multilateralism, among many others.

This conversation last Thursday, February 25, is moving in that direction ”, said Bernardo Navazo, moderator of the meeting and president of the Association of Rafael del Pino Scholars of Excellence in the presentation of the webinar.

For their part, both the president emeritus and the president of Cátedra China, Marcelo Muñoz and Rosa Cerveza, respectively, highlighted not only the importance of promoting knowledge about China in Spain, but also the value of bringing knowledge from Spain to China. And the data is clear: Spain only sells 0.4% of its imports to China. Also, despite being an international tourist power, Spain only receives 0.8% of Chinese tourists. It is in this context, there is immense potential to deepen relations between the two countries, which could contribute very positively to the economy and society of our country.

The event was attended by the His Excellency Ambassador of China in Spain, Mr. Wu Haitao, who joined his new position in Spain in April 2020 after having been deputy representative of the Permanent Mission of China to the UN. In his speech, he highlighted that the year 2020, despite the pandemic, was a year of deepening mutual trust and the rebound in economic-trade relations between Spain and China. He also pointed out that there are still numerous areas for bilateral cooperation such as renewable energy, electric mobility, smart cities, telecommunications, education, tourism, culture and sports, among others.

After the institutional welcome by His Excellency Ambassador, His Excellency Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Spain, Mr. Yao Fei, presented his presentation "The Chinese perspective of the new challenges in this world" to the attendees, which was followed by a discussion moderated by Bernardo Navazo, international policy analyst and president of the Rafael del Pino Scholars Association. This colloquium allowed the attendees to learn more about the Chinese contribution to the global fight against the pandemic, the efforts of the Asian country in the fight against climate change, as well as to get closer to Beijing's vision of the current multilateral system and its proposals to adapt it to the new times.

This situation of geopolitical instability and the need to find consensus among the great powers have come to stay. The European Union, and consequently Spain, must seek a dialogue that allows, counting on both the global leadership of the United States and China, to respond to the common problems of humanity.

About the organizers:

The Rafael del Pino Association of Scholars of Excellence is made up of more than 500 members. The activities it organizes seek both to strengthen the community and to connect it with all the people who share its pro-global, pro-talent and pro-entrepreneurship principles and values. This is where their collaboration with other institutions is framed to generate spaces for debates on international politics. In addition, it has these same spaces for Referees, Third Sector and Scientists.

Cátedra China is an independent non-profit association made up of members of the teaching, professional, business, media and institutional community, both Spanish and Chinese, with the vocation of joining forces and establishing collaboration or exchange agreements with all those institutions that include among their objectives study, business action, culture or participation in activities related to China.

The Columbia University Alumni Association in Spain, a non-profit organization to promote the interests of Columbia University (New York, USA) and all its schools in Spain, organize academic and intellectual activities for Columbia University alumni in Spain.