In the regal auditorium of Tsinghua University, one of China's most prestigious, the Spanish Prime Minister has initiated the official visit to the Asian giant with a clear statement of intent in the form of a speech. Pedro Sánchez has advocated for strengthening multilateralism and, at the same time, reforming it to have a more representative and democratic UN Security Council that gives more power to southern countries. Although he has acknowledged China's efforts in defending international law, he has assigned it homework, for example, to get involved in ceasing conflicts in Lebanon, Iran, Gaza, the West Bank, and also in Ukraine. He has not forgotten about the economy and has demanded more balanced relations, recalling the large trade deficit with the Asian giant: "We need China to open up so that Europe does not have to close itself off".

The visit that Pedro Sánchez is making starting this Monday to China is not like the previous ones. Not so much for the magnitude of the agreements that may derive from it nor because it is an exceptional visit –it is the fourth time he has been there in the last three years–, but for the treatment that the Chinese authorities will give him. It is an "official" trip, qualified as such in diplomatic terms, in which his wife, Begoña Gómez, has been invited and in which a banquet is being organized following his visit to the Great Hall of the People, where the most important diplomatic events take place. Ceremony is not trivial in Chinese culture: for Beijing, forms and staging are very important. The banquet will be the culmination of a visit that will begin on Monday with a conference at Tsinghua University and a visit to the tech company Xiaomi and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and will continue on Tuesday with a meeting –and the banquet– at the highest level between Xi Jinping and Pedro Sánchez. In the evening, there will still be another meal in the same format with the Prime Minister, Li Qiang.

In the school in Girona that I attended as a child, Carol Law Lee, of Chinese origin, was for a long time the only girl with parents from abroad. “I felt exotic. The older students would touch my hair and say it looked like threads!”, she recalls. Years later, however, another Chinese girl arrived, whom she “felt close to” and “was very eager to meet”.

Jordi Muntañola (Barcelona, 1978) has been the CEO of Salvat laboratories for a year. This molecular biologist from Esteve, who also held positions of responsibility at the Werfen group, has placed Salvat in the club of 100 million in turnover 12 months after initiating a major transformation to enhance the values and characteristics of a family-owned pharmaceutical company with over 70 years of history; a portfolio of its own products, with brands like the antiseptic Cristalmina, and a foundation to which it dedicates a portion of its profits. And, moreover, with great prospects, with the acceleration of the third-party production business and the launch during the first half of this year of a new product in the USA, with the prospect of marketing another next year and another in China. Always accompanied by a local partner, the formula it uses for internationalization, which has led it to be present in more than 60 countries. And without ruling out possible acquisitions, a path that the company may incorporate into the 2027-2030 strategic plan, which it expects to have ready this summer.

In 2019, a Chinese developer created a GitHub repository, the most important social network for programmers worldwide, called “996.ICU”. The codename denounced the exploitative labor conditions of Chinese tech companies: if you work 996, from 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week, you’ll end up in the ICU. The repository went viral, with more and more Chinese programmers supporting it and creating blacklists of companies that applied the 996, such as Alibaba, Huawei, or Tencent. Chinese tech companies and the government were alerted, but the wave was difficult to stop: GitHub, a large open-source library, is the only major Western social network that is not censored in China. The 996 became a major national debate. Two years later, this spontaneous labor movement managed to get the Chinese government and courts to declare these working conditions illegal.In recent years, there has been much talk about open Chinese AI models. The most famous was Deepseek, but Qwen, Manus, or Kimi are also well-known in the programming community. Unlike the closed and private AI of American tech companies, Chinese companies have opted for open, free, and highly modifiable models. This has made them popular among startups or developing countries. Right now, open Chinese AI models are the only ones that can rival American ones. They have become one of China's most cutting-edge technological sectors, and a great source of national pride.China's technological success is often explained through state subsidies or long-term plans of the Communist Party. But, as analyst Kevin Xu explains, the Chinese AI models that are now so successful have not emerged from government initiatives, but from a spontaneous movement from below: the social mass of Chinese open-source programmers who launched the campaign against 996 is the same one that has created the AI models that fascinate the world.

Of all the Persian Gulf monarchies that have suffered attacks from Iran since Washington initiated the war, Saudi Arabia is in the most confusing position, immersed in a genuine strategic dilemma. Among other reasons, because it is the largest and most powerful country in the region, the one with the oldest and closest ties to the United States, but the one which, along with Oman, has suffered least from the wrath of the ayatollah regime. At least, until now. Therefore, contradictory news has been published about how and when Riyadh would like the war to end, and what its future security strategy might be, given the failure of the current one.

The Government has placed Asia at the top of its international priorities list. So much so that the president, Salvador Illa, made his first two intercontinental trips there, first to Japan and Korea, and then to China. This week, the Minister of European Union and External Action, Jaume Duch, has returned to the Asian giant for the second time to continue working hard and strengthen the ties between Catalonia and the country, while awaiting the finalization of procedures to open the new delegation of the Generalitat in Beijing. This Friday, the minister signed, on behalf of the Government, two memorandums of understanding with the leading provinces of Jiangsu and Hainan, where he also participated in the Boao Forum, the Asian Davos.

China is a stabilizing and peaceful force against the United States, which sows chaos throughout the world… Or at least this is the message Beijing is conveying in response to the attack on Iran. The Asian giant is walking a tightrope in criticizing the US and Israeli military operation. But it offers nothing more than statements of support for its ally, the regime of the ayatollahs.

In 1950, Mao Zedong sent Chinese troops to fight alongside their North Korean "brothers" against the United States for control of the Korean Peninsula. Mao had just established the People's Republic, and the ideological alliance between Asian socialist movements was strong. The Chinese communist troops, worn down by the war against the Japanese and the civil war, were willing to come to the aid of their North Korean ally, despite the People's Republic's precarious and weak situation.

China has set a growth target of between 4.5% and 5% for 2026. This is the first time since 1991 that the Asian giant has considered GDP growth below 5%.

Beijing's response to the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran has been restrained, appealing to diplomacy to resolve the conflict. This is typical of Chinese foreign policy, even though this time the attacked country is one of its allies and major trading partners. Iran is a key piece in China's international expansion. Sanctions against the ayatollahs' regime have made the Asian giant its main trading partner. Around 80% of Iranian oil shipped to China is destined for the US. The Chinese government obtains high-quality crude at a low price and, moreover, buys it with yuan, without using the US dollar. Aside from Iran's large oil and gas reserves, the country is geostrategically important to China because of its control of the Strait of Hormuz and, therefore, its oil trade. Iran has also become a key player in the Belt and Road Initiative trade corridor and a hub Logistics route for shipping goods to Europe.

China, one of Iran's main partners, expressed its support for Tehran on Monday in the face of attacks by the United States and Israel. Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, and assured him of Beijing's support in defending Iran's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. This is the first show of firm support from the Chinese giant, in a call that took place at the Iranian president's request. According to a statement released after the phone call, Wang conveyed to Araghchi his support in "protecting Iran's legitimate rights and interests." The Chinese minister stated that Iran has "no choice" but to defend itself after the attack and urged the US and Israel to "immediately halt military operations, prevent further escalation, and prevent the entire Middle East from being drawn into the conflict."

Iran is close to finalizing a deal with China for the purchase of supersonic missiles, according to Reuters. six sources with knowledge of the negotiations. This comes amid heightened military tensions with the United States, in which Washington has deployed several ships to the region.The purchase is especially significant, particularly because the missiles Tehran will acquire are designed to evade enemy ship defenses by flying at low altitude and high speed. Although the signing of the agreement is imminent, according to the cited sources, a delivery date for the weaponry has not yet been finalized. Talks with China to purchase this weaponry began at least two years ago. But they accelerated significantly after the Twelve-day war with Israeland theUS bombing of nuclear facilities Iranians, in support of Tel Aviv. To accelerate negotiations on the agreement, several high-ranking Iranian military and government officials traveled to China this summer, including Massoud Oraei, Iran's Deputy Defense Minister.

Beijing has taken giant strides in accelerating the transition to renewable energy with record investments in solar and wind power plants, but it hasn't abandoned coal. The Asian giant continues to build a record number of new coal-fired power plants to meet its energy needs. In 2024, 93% of all new coal-fired power plant projects worldwide were initiated in China, contributing 94.5 gigawatts. This trend continued in 2025, with new coal plants adding 161 GW. Currently, there are projects under construction and others that have been approved, with the capacity to produce 291 GW of coal-fired power, according to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Net Air. If this forecast is ultimately realized, it will represent approximately 23% of the current coal-fired power plant fleet, a significant increase. Some experts warn that Beijing's persistent push to build new coal-fired power plants could lead to overcapacity and underutilization of existing plants, in addition to failing to reduce CO₂ emissions. Last year, nearly half of China's electricity generation still came from coal.

The image of a sad toy horse has gone viral as a metaphor, especially among young people, for the mood with which many Chinese citizens are facing the arrival of the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Fire Horse will begin on February 17th. The economic slowdownThe real estate crisis and rising unemployment are impacting public sentiment, and the government remains focused on stimulating domestic consumption. The Chinese New Year festivities, also known as the Spring Festival, are the main holiday period of the year and a time when consumption traditionally skyrockets, driven by family gatherings, travel, entertainment, and gift-giving. This year, the government has adopted a whole host of measures to ensure that these holidays, very similar to our Christmas, further boost spending and reinforce consumer confidence.

A few weeks ago, China's quintessential polemicist, Ai Weiwei, returned to Beijing after years in exile. Speaking to Western newspapers about his visit, he said he felt more welcome in authoritarian China than in democratic Germany. On the streets of the Chinese capital, locals struck up friendly, informal conversations with him. In Germany, by contrast, hardly anyone invited him home for dinner during the ten years he lived there.

Hong Kong's High Court has sentenced Jimmy Lai, a leading figure in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, to 20 years in prison for national security offenses. It is the harshest sentence handed down in Hong Kong under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. The sentence sends a clear message that Beijing will not be lenient and will treat Hong Kongers as strictly as those in mainland China. That is to say, it will be ruthless with those who dare to challenge the state and will sentence them to long prison terms.

In recent years, China has managed to capture a significant portion of the market that until recently was dominated by the European pharmaceutical industry, displacing the Old Continent to third place globally in many aspects. This ranking is led by the United States, but the Asian giant continues to gain ground. In this context, Catalonia, the leading center for the sector in Spain, with 44% of the pharmaceutical manufacturing plants (79 out of 181), and one of the main centers in Europe, must play a key role in the effort to improve innovation in the industry and regain its position. Within this framework, the Catalan government (Generalitat) and the industry association Farmaindustria are working to boost competitiveness and increase innovation and patient access to new treatments. The last meeting between the two parties took place last month, attended by President Salvador Illa, before his medical leave, and the president of the industry association, Fina Lladós.

Concern and unease. This is what the European pharmaceutical sector feels in the face of the advance of the US and China. This was expressed by Carlos Gallardo, president and CEO of Almirante and second vice-president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). During a conference at Matins d'Esade, the representative of the family that controls the majority of Almirante's capital asserted that Europe was, "literally, the pharmacy of the world," and that this characteristic has been lost in the last three decades. "In 25 years, it has gone from contributing half of the innovative medicines to producing only one in five," he explained. Gallardo called on the European Union (EU) to modify its policy and consider the biopharmaceutical sector strategic for the future of the European economy, instead of as a cost center. He explained that investment in research and development (R&D) has fallen by 25% in the last 20 years in Europe, which is delaying the global launch of drugs. He also explained that the regulatory process is also too slow in Europe. As an example, he said that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) takes an average of 426 days to approve a product, while in the US, through the FDA, it takes 244 days. And, in Spain, another 600 days are added. Therefore, companies only have about six years to recoup their investment before the patent expires. During the audience question period, Gallardo called for a commitment to a hub He argued that having a "superpower" research center in Europe, like the one in Boston, USA, instead of one in every country, fragments everything and creates significant inefficiencies. The decline he believes is affecting the European sector also impacts clinical research. "European participation in clinical trials has halved, resulting in 60,000 fewer opportunities for patients." Furthermore, he noted that US and Chinese industrial policies are "redirecting manufacturing investment away from Europe." He also stated that Almirall is committed to artificial intelligence (AI) and explained the process that led the company to focus on medical dermatology. To this end, they consider many variables, from dermatologists' perceptions to the number of patients treated, sales growth, employee satisfaction, progress on the R&D roadmap, and reducing their carbon footprint, he concluded. It has been agreed that its objective is to launch products prescribed by dermatologists, outside the realm of cosmetics or aesthetics.

The announcement that General Zhang, along with General Liu Zhenli, has been removed from their posts and is being investigated for "serious violations of discipline and the law"—a euphemism that translates into accusations of corruption—has unleashed all sorts of rumors in China.