Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with King Felipe VI of Spain, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday.
Li said China is willing to work with Spain to further promote the traditional friendship, strengthen the alignment of development strategies, and deepen cooperation in areas such as trade and economy, artificial intelligence, and third-party markets, so as to continuously improve the well-being of the people of both countries.
China and Spain are both advocates and beneficiaries of free trade, Li said, stressing that the two countries should strengthen coordination and jointly safeguard the global economic and trade order.
The premier expressed the hope that Spain will continue to play an active role in deepening China-EU cooperation.
For his part, King Felipe VI said Spain firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and highly commends the four major global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping, namely, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative.
Spain is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges, expand economic, trade and cultural cooperation, and strengthen multilateral collaboration with China, said the king.
He also said that Spain will play an active role in promoting the steady development of EU-China relations.
Chinese premier meets Spanish king
Tanzanians doing business in the Middle East have been forced to scale down or cease operations altogether, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupts global travel.
In early March, Tanzanian authorities sent a special flight to bring home more than 200 citizens from Dubai.
Mustapha Khatow, who runs the travel agency Sky Link Travel and Tours, said he has spent nearly four decades in the tourism industry, moving between Dubai and Tanzania, serving both corporate and leisure travelers. But the recent tensions involving Iran and the disruption to flights and business have hit hard, forcing him to relocate his family back to Tanzania.
"Tanzanian travel agents in the whole, they have been hit, because we've had huge cancellations for Eid, people going to Dubai, for Easter holidays, going to Dubai. So, we have lost a big chunk of people who do not wish to go to Dubai at this time," he said.
The impact is being felt beyond tourism. Supply challenges linked to the conflict have pushed up global oil prices, raising concerns for import-dependent economies like Tanzania. Authorities say they are taking measures to cushion businesses and maintain steady fuel supplies.
Aviation and tourism in the Middle East have also taken a hit. In Dubai, more than 80,000 travel bookings were canceled in the first week of the conflict as airports faced intermittent closures and uncertainty, leading to millions of dollars in losses.
Reports indicate that visitor arrivals in the Middle East could decline by between 11 percent and 27 percent in 2026. Travel industry professionals like Khatow view the downturn as collateral damage from the conflict and hope for a swift resolution to help revive tourism.
"Those big traders who bring containers to Tanzania, they have a challenge because of the shipping lines getting delayed, freight charges going up. And again, another issue is Air Tanzania has not been flying to Dubai since then, apart from one repatriation flight," he said.
Khatow said diplomacy will be key to restoring stability, while accurate reporting can help limit further damage to businesses.
US-Israeli war on Iran disrupts travel businesses from Tanzania
