A battery manufacturing joint venture between China's battery giant CATL and multinational automaker Stellantis has broken ground in Spain's northeastern region of Aragon, with a groundbreaking ceremony held on Wednesday for the project that marks one of the largest Chinese industrial investments in the country.
CATL and Stellantis aim to have the new gigafactory in Zaragoza, located in Aragon, up and running by the end of 2026 and, with a joint investment of over 4 billion euros. The facility will run entirely on renewable energy. It is expected to deliver up to 50 GWh of lithium-iron phosphate batteries a year for electric vehicles.
CATL is the world's biggest and best-selling electric vehicle battery maker, and Stellantis is a global car manufacturer that has Jeep, Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Peugeot, and Vauxhall under its umbrella - among others.
These two multinational powerhouses have teamed up to build an EV battery plant with a clear aim.
"To accelerate the transition towards affordable, accessible, sustainable mobility for all," said Wu Qi, CEO of Contemporary Star Energy - the joint venture set up by CATL and Stellantis, in his speech at the ceremony.
Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Jordi Hereu said the groundbreaking ceremony represents a strategic milestone in Spain's new-energy transition and industrial modernization, as well as Europe's strategic independence on the world stage.
"Today we are laying the first stone, the fruit of cooperation and of a vision of what an independent European strategy needs to be - open to cooperation, to dialogue, to work with all of the countries in the world, and especially with a country like China," he said.
During the ceremony, representatives from both sides sealed copies of Spain's Heraldo de Aragon and China's People's Daily into a time capsule to be placed at the factory's entrance as a symbol of long-term commitment to the project's future.
As China continues to lead innovation in sustainable technology, Spain is positioning itself as a global EV manufacturing hub through high levels of education, lower costs, and on-site solar and wind energy. It is in the talk about setting up a brand-new European plant that another Chinese EV giant, BYD, is planning.
CATL, Stellantis break ground on major EV battery plant in Spain
China will strengthen fiscal and financial coordination to amplify policy effectiveness, experts said as the draft central and local budgets for 2026 were unveiled on Friday at the ongoing fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.
According to the draft central and local budgets for 2026, 1.3 trillion yuan (190 billion U.S. dollars) of ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued to provide continued support for the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity-building in key areas and for large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs.
Ultra-long special treasury bonds totaling 800 billion yuan will be allocated to support the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity-building in key areas, and 250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be earmarked for consumer goods trade-in programs.
The country will refine these programs in terms of their scope and subsidy standards, and continue to support the scrapping and replacement of automobiles, home appliance trade-in schemes, and purchases of new digital and smart products.
China will also set up a 100-billion-yuan fiscal-financial coordination fund to boost domestic demand. The fund will support consumption and private investment through loan interest subsidies, financing guarantee, and risk compensation.
"Fiscal and monetary policies are the two major macroeconomic tools for macro-control, and their coordination is crucial. For instance, fiscal funds primarily serve as a guiding role, while financial institutions provide the capital. When fiscal guidance and financial resources are combined, the synergistic effect creates a result greater than the sum of its parts," said Yang Zhiyong, director of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences.
"By leveraging interest subsidies, we can mobilize substantial credit from financial institutions, thereby naturally stimulating consumption. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the People's Bank of China, has introduced highly innovative measures, such as providing guarantees for the issuance of corporate bonds by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and compensating investors for losses. I believe the leveraging effect, making minimal efforts for maximum results, will become even more potent," said Yao Dongmin, director of the Center for China Fiscal Development under the Central University of Finance and Economics.
China's top legislature opened its annual session on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders attending the opening meeting alongside more than 2,700 NPC deputies. This year's NPC session is scheduled to run till March 12.
China to strengthen fiscal, financial coordination to amplify policy effectiveness: experts
