Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called for a correct understanding of China in delivering a speech at the Tsinghua University in Beijing during his ongoing visit the country.
Sanchez, who was warmly received by the university on the occasion, referenced the story of Matteo Ricci to highlight the importance of perspective. He noted that when Ricci first arrived in China, the world map he introduced was centered on Europe, placing Asia at the margins and reflecting a clear bias. More than 400 years later, Sánchez said, some still view China and the world through similarly distorted lenses.
"There are those who insist on interpreting reality through a zero-sum lens, portraying the growth of some as a loss for others, or arguing that deepening certain relationships means abandoning others. But I believe this view is not only mistaken, but also dangerous, because it is immobilizing. It turns us into prisoners of the past and limits the possibilities the future offers us," he said.
Sanchez emphasized that the world today is increasingly multipolar and reaffirmed Spain's commitment to multilateralism. He called for cooperation based on mutual respect and for managing differences constructively.
"They believe that the multilateral world is dead, that it belongs to the past. And I want to say here that I profoundly disagree with that analysis. I disagree emphatically. I believe that global governance instruments worked in the 20th century, and that today they are more necessary than ever. I believe that a multipolar world needs a robust multilateral system, not to impose a single vision, but to turn the diversity of our perspectives into a strength for all of humanity; not to eliminate our differences, but to deal with them peacefully. If Spain, Europe and China were able to prosper together in the past, there is no reason to think we cannot do so again," said Sanchez.
At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Sanchez is paying an official visit to China from Saturday to Wednesday, which marks the prime minister's fourth visit to China within four years and another important high-level exchange between China and Spain shortly after last year's visits to China by the Spanish King and the prime minister.
Spain's PM Sanchez calls for 'clear-eyed understanding' of China
