Destacadas

2018, The novelties of the shops between spain and china

“The year 2018 has a good start for trade between China and Spain. Both countries should take advantage of their respective advantages and expand cooperation in markets. ”

Almost 15,000 Spanish companies export to China and some 600 more are implanted in this country, in sectors such as energy, automotive, financial services, industrial technology, agri-food and consumer goods.

The close economic relationship between the two countries is not only shown in the export and import but also in China’s investment to Spain. With the development of the Chinese economy, the big Chinese investors are looking for acquisitions of high strategic value throughout Spain. The acquisitions made up to 2018 amounting to 4,650 million, already provide Chinese investors with around 2,050 million annual revenues.

From Royal Communication, in addition to investment, other sectors are identified that are very prominent in Sino-Spanish economic exchanges: tourism, gastronomy and technology.

Tourism:

Spain received some 718,000 Chinese tourists in 2017, reported the Spain-China Tourism Association (ATEC) within the framework of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur). The president of the ATEC, Rafael Cascales, also referred to the “enormous strategic importance of Chinese tourism” for the Spanish economy. Compared to sun and beach tourists, the Chinese spend more money on hotels, restaurants, historical monuments and luxury products.

In 2017 tourists from Hong Kong spend more money in Spain and have an average of 1,059 euros each person, followed by China tangerine, 894 euros each person. According to the Tax-free statistic report, more than half of the purchases are clothing, purse, jewel and watch. For Chinese tourists Barcelona is more attractive to buy, 49% of them buy in Barcelona.

Also with the collaboration between the cities of both countries, as recently between Madrid and Chengdu, tourism will develop in a velocidadalta.

Gastronomy:

One of the attributes and weapons that Spain has is gastronomy, which together with fashion and sports, are the spearhead of the strategy to enter important markets such as China. Spanish gastronomy is key to having a greater presence in China, explained the high commissioner of the Government for the Spain Brand, Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, in an interview with Xinhua. Especially in the wine sector there is a great development in recent years. China is already the fifth largest customer of Spanish wines in the world. Spain exported to China in 2017 a total of 153.7 million liters for a total value of 190 million euros with a strong growth last year of 25.6 percent in value and 48.3 percent in volume. the development of economy and the expansion of the middle class, drinking wine is already a fad. In China there are now 35 million consumers and the expectation is that they will triple in the coming years.

Technology:

There are more and more Chinese high-tech brands that want to enter and develop in Spain, offering opportunities for collaboration and many benefits. For example, Huawei aims to help build a fully connected and intelligent Spain. Now it has more than 200 partners in Spain and more than 1,200 local employees. It also establishes cooperative relations with the main Spanish telecommunications operators to provide communication network infrastructure services. With the entry of more Chinese technology companies there will be more opportunities in this sector.

Within Spain, the group of Chinese immigrants is growing. According to the statistics of the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2018 the amount of Chinese has reached 215,748 occupying the fourth place. The most populated cities of the Chinese are Madrid and Barcelona. How to attract the Chinese in Spain now becomes a popular topic among local businesses.

The number of foreigners in Spain 2018

fuente: Instituto Nacional de Estadística
fuente: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE)

For business between Spain and China, policies are also favorable. On the part of China, the initiative of the Strip and the Route represents an opportunity for Spain to achieve a fuller and better quality globalization. The initiative was raised by China in 2013 and covers the countries that have historically passed the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. One part of this initiative is the Yiwu-Madrid train that runs through eight countries: China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and Spain. The convoy is cheaper than the plane and faster than the ship. That is why it is ideal for some products and some companies and offers more opportunities for PIME to enter the Asian market.

And on the part of Spain, the importance of yuan (the Chinese currency) that has grown globally in recent years especially since it was included in the basket of reserve currencies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is very noticeable. In addition, trade between China and Spain has grown significantly reaching up to 32 billion dollars. In 2018 Spain also decides to include the yuan in the basket of reserve currencies of the Bank of Spain (BdE), following countries like Germany and Belgium. According to experts, this step will strengthen relations and commercial exchanges between Spain and China.

From the strategic department of Royal Communication, it is considered that the beginning of the year 2018 is a good start for trade between China and Spain. Both countries should take advantage of their respective advantages and expand cooperation in markets.