Xi meets Spain PM in China as Madrid seeks stronger ties

China's President Xi Jinping met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on Tuesday, according to Chinese state media, with the visit centred on strengthening economic ties.

The meeting of the two leaders comes on the second day of Sanchez's visit as he seeks to position Spain as a bridge between Beijing and the European Union, whose relations with the United States are under strain.

"On the morning of April 14, President Xi Jinping met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing," state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Sanchez is seeking to strengthen economic ties with the world's second-largest economy, but called China's trade imbalance with the EU "unsustainable" on Monday.

The Spanish prime minister is on his fourth visit to China in four years and follows a steady flow of Western leaders visiting Beijing in recent months as President Donald Trump's tariffs and unpredictable foreign policy have rattled the US's traditional allies. 

AFP