The King of Spain's visit to China this week was not merely a diplomatic gesture. In economic terms, it represents a complete normalization of trade relations with a country that, for more than twenty years, has displaced thousands of industrial jobs in Europe through unfair competition.
When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, it was already being warned that it wouldn't play by the same rules. I warned about this in many of my articles and in my essay. The big change, Published in 2013 by Temas de Hoy: low wages, systematic non-compliance with labor rights, absence of environmental regulation and zero protection of industrial property.
The result was a tsunami for our business sector. In Spain alone, sectors such as textiles, footwear, furniture, and automotive components saw thousands of companies disappear in just a decade. According to data from the Ministry of Industry, between 2008 and 2020, more than 45,000 jobs were lost in the textile sector alone.
For a long time, we denounced this situation as unfair competition. But now that China not only produces but also buys, everything seems forgiven. And that's where the King's visit comes in: a gesture that not only whitewashes China's international standing but also puts a close to a painful chapter of offshoring and business destruction.
Let's see. It's true that Beijing has made progress. It has improved its intellectual property policies, developed its own patent systems, and even begun to crack down on industrial copying in some sectors. It has also raised the minimum wage and strengthened certain labor conditions. But access to its market remains opaque. Foreign companies are required to share technology, and regulatory requirements are extremely protectionist. It's asymmetrical. It's easier for China to exit than for Western companies to enter.
These practices continue to create an imbalance for European companies bound by strict labor and environmental regulations. Thus, while we here increasingly demand responsibility from companies and consumers, in China production remains characterized by extreme flexibility… in every sense. But now we abandon the demands we made years ago and enthusiastically embrace their investment capacity, their immense market, and their technological potential.
But behind every official photo, there's been a closed shop. Behind every agreement, an empty warehouse. What has been solidified this week is not just an alliance, but the confirmation of defeat in the battle against unfair competition brought about by globalization back in 2001.
