China-Spain tech cooperation strengthens resilience amid global uncertainties: Spanish expert

China-Spain cooperation in the tech sector can serve as a resilience multiplier in an increasingly unstable global economy, said a Spanish expert Thursday, just days ahead of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's scheduled visit to China.

Speaking to China Global Television Network (CGTN), Aureo Diaz-Carrasco, executive director of the Spanish Federation of Technology Centers, said the upcoming visit is very symbolic and important for both countries, as his country is eying long-term cooperation with China.

"I think we need to be a bit more ambitious on this kind of long-term research and development cooperation. We need a predictable joint funding framework. This is the best way to encourage firms to invest in multi-annual, joint initiatives," said the expert.

He emphasized the role of technology in strengthening resilience amid global tensions and supply chain disruptions.

"Knowledge cooperation is one key driver for competitiveness, and this is the most important factor for resilience. If we are able to build technology cooperation on top of confidence, diversification, redundancy, and joint problem solving capabilities, I think that would be the best way to proceed. China and Spain tech cooperation can function as a resilience multiplier in an increasingly unstable global economy, in which technology can help resilience," said Diaz-Carrasco.

"I think we have a good opportunity to improve China-Spain cooperation and reduce these supply chain risks. If we are able to diversify product locations, for instance, producing inside Spain rather than relying on long-distance imports, if we are able to anchor, for instance, cooperation in energy sustainability, and expand into new markets altogether, and of course, if we are able to maintain institutional dialogue to help firms adapt before risks become disruptions, we have an opportunity to reduce supply chain risk. We can deliver tangible economic spillovers with this cooperation," he added.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will pay an official visit to China from April 11 to 15 at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

The upcoming visit marks Sanchez's fourth visit to China in a four-year period, and represents another significant high-level exchange between China and Spain in a short period, following the visits by Spanish King Felipe VI and Sanchez last year.

China registered robust growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) in high-tech industries during the first eight months of the year, despite a decline in overall inflows, according to the latest official data.

During this period, the FDI in high-tech industries surged 35.1 percent to 200.26 billion yuan (about 29.66 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 41.7 percent of the national total, a rise of 12.4 percentage points from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said.

A total of 42,582 new foreign-invested enterprises were established, up 0.3 percent year on year, while the FDI in actual use came in at 479.95 billion yuan, down 5.3 percent from the previous year.

During the first eight months of 2026, actual investment from France, Switzerland and the Republic of Korea grew by 39.2 percent, 16.7 percent and 16.5 percent, respectively, with investment via free ports included in these calculations.