Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian

When asked about recent comments made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who criticized Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo's suggestion that Europe should more closely align with China in response to US tariffs, claiming: "That would be cutting your own throat," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Thursday said that when it comes to "cutting throats," it is the US that has been using tariffs to threaten and extort the world, which is an attempt to strangle other countries' development and force them to make compromises and concessions in the face of its bullying.

Lin said that China-Spain relations are an important part of China-EU relations. In 2024, the bilateral trade volume exceeded $50 billion, with Spain's exports to China increasing by 4.3 percent. In recent years, Chinese enterprises have carried out new energy industry cooperation in Spain, helping promote green and low-carbon development. The two countries have maintained communication in multilateral fields and jointly safeguarded the international system with the UN at its core and the multilateral trade system with WTO as the core.

"China has been maintaining good relations with other countries, likewise, China-Spain cooperation has always added momentum to the two countries' economies, brought benefits to people in both nations and contributed to world stability and development," Lin said.

Global Times