Spain's engagement with China has been built gradually and at the highest institutional level, an international relations scholar has said.

BARCELONA, Spain, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's official visit to China displays a deliberate and long-standing diplomatic effort to build a stable relationship with China, an international relations scholar has said.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Sanchez will pay an official visit to China from Saturday to Wednesday, which will be 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.

"Diplomatic relations between the two countries are not improvised. They are the result of many years of work," Jordi Bacaria, expert in international relations and professor emeritus at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told Xinhua in an interview.

Spain's engagement with China, he said, has been built gradually and at the highest institutional level.

Bacaria described Spain's approach as one that seeks a strong relationship with China while remaining aligned with a broader European framework. "Spain's diplomatic strategy seeks a good and stable relationship with China, without undermining the relationship between the European Union and China," he said.

Bacaria identified trade and investment as priorities for the visit. He noted that Spain seeks to expand its commercial ties with China, support Spanish companies already operating in the Chinese market and boost exports in sectors such as agri-food products. "Spain needs to increase trade with China. It also needs a good market for Spanish companies already established there, as well as for its exports," he said.

Beyond trade, Bacaria highlighted Spain's opportunity to secure access to Chinese technology for its renewable energy transition, including solar panels, semiconductors and components for electrification. "Spain needs to maintain a good relationship with China because it has a technological project centered on semiconductors and renewable energy," he said.

Chinese investment in Spain, particularly in the electric vehicle sector, has further strengthened bilateral economic ties, Bacaria noted. "Spain has developed its own agenda, aiming to maintain this relationship with China for its supply chains and its renewable energy strategy," he said.