On January 30, 2009, Spanish King Juan Carlos met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Madrid.

Wen appreciated the active efforts of King Juan Carlos and the Spanish royal family to push forward China-Spain relations over the years. Wen said that the two peoples share profound friendship and have been learning from each other with mutual respect and support, describing both sides as good friends with mutual trust and good partners of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Wen said the international financial crisis has caused severe impact on the economy of the two countries. He noted the current visit has brought not only friendship, but cooperation and confidence in tiding over the difficulties. China welcomes Spanish enterprises to actively participate in China’s economic development, especially to invest in the central and western regions of China. China will take measures to increase imports from Spain and promote a balanced development of bilateral trade.

Wen said both China and Spain, as two ancient civilizations, have made significant contributions to the progress of mankind. The two countries should strengthen exchanges in the cultural area and jointly push for dialogue and understanding between different civilizations and the building of a harmonious world.

King Juan Carlos said in the context of the spreading financial crisis, Premier Wen’s visit has brought friendship, cooperation and confidence to Spain and is of great significance. Spain is ready to further enhance exchanges and cooperation with China on economy, trade and culture on the existing sound basis. The Spanish entrepreneurs hope to further explore the Chinese market. Spain will actively participate in the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. He believed that with the joint efforts of both sides, the China-Spain friendship will surely make greater progress. On the morning of January 31, Premier Wen also attended a culture exchange conference held at Institute Cervantes.