Guests speak at a sub-venue of the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2025 in Madrid, Spain, on October 28. Photo: Xinhua

A sub-venue of the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum (FSF) 2025 was held in the Spanish capital Madrid, on Tuesday local time under the theme of "Forging New China-Europe Ties: Synergies for Solutions." This is the first time that the FSF set up a sub venue in Spain, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In his speech, Yao Jing, Chinese Ambassador to Spain, said that in recent years, China and Spain have maintained frequent high-level exchanges, while the two countries' economic, trade and investment cooperation continues to deepen, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges have strengthened.

Chinese enterprises have expanded investments in areas such as electric vehicles, clean energy and digital transformation sectors in Spain, and Spanish enterprises have steadily expanded their operations in China. The two sides are forming a virtuous cycle between industrial chains and markets. Financial cooperation has provided solid support for two-way investments between the two countries, according to the ambassador.

Gabor Szocs, executive director of the National Bank of Hungary, said that it is more important than ever to strengthen international cooperation under the current situation. Europe's long-term competitiveness depends not only on mobilizing domestic investments but also on establishing stronger and more strategic external partnerships. Closer cooperation with Asian countries, particularly China, is crucial to achieving this goal, he said, according to Xinhua.

Jack Perry Jr., chairman of the 48 Group Club and CEO of London Export Corp, told the Global Times that China and the EU need mutual trust and cooperation.

In recalling the history of Icebreaking Mission between China and Britain, he said that a new generation of entrepreneurs should contribute to the building of a deeper and more innovative China-EU partnership.

The Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2025 is being held this week in Beijing's Xicheng district under the theme "Global Financial Development in an Era of Innovation, Transformation and Restructuring." Five overseas sub-forums, the largest number in the forum's history, are being held in Madrid, Kuala Lumpur, New York, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Abu Dhabi.

Global Times