Second China-Spain Mayors' Dialogue Held in Yantai
Source: China Macro Web
From August 27 to 29, the second China-Spain Mayors' Dialogue was successfully held in Yantai, Shandong Province. Co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Fundación Cátedra China, the event brought together more than 100 representatives, including officials from 24 Chinese cities across 11 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and 20 Spanish cities from 11 autonomous communities, along with representatives from relevant fields.
Under the theme "Urban Forces in Transition: China and Spain Joining Hands for a Win-Win Future," the dialogue featured an opening ceremony, sub-forums, and a series of events under the "Quality Yantai" premium products exhibition. Chinese and international guests gathered in Yantai to share new approaches to urban governance, explore new pathways for green development, and discuss new blueprints for friendly cooperation.
At the opening ceremony, multiple distinguished guests delivered speeches, including Gerardo Pisarello, First Secretary of the Spanish Congress of Deputies and Marta Montoro, President of Fundación Cátedra China. Four sub-forums were subsequently held, focusing on the themes of "Connecting Markets for Mutual Benefits and Win-Win Cooperation," "Green and Low-Carbon for Shared Livability," "Digital and Intelligent Integration for Innovation and Empowerment," and "Cultural Exchange for People-to-People Bonding." More than 40 city representatives from China and Spain engaged in dialogues on trade connectivity, green symbiosis, digital innovation, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, reaching broad consensus on sub-national cooperation between the two countries.
The event also specially curated the "Quality Yantai" premium products exhibition, featuring three major zones — "Premium Geographical Indications: Fresh Produce from Mountains and Seas," "Celestial Wines and Cloud-refreshing Teas," and "Exquisite Craftsmanship: Millennia-old Heritage" — which showcased nine categories of Yantai's China-EU mutually recognized geographical indication products and 13 intangible cultural heritage skills, earning high praise from participating guests. During their visit in Yantai, the Spanish delegation also visited Suochengli and Chaoyang Street, experiencing first-hand experience of the city's distinctive character, where scientific and technological innovation vitality intertwines with profound historical and cultural heritage.
As a significant starting port of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Yantai boasts a profound heritage of opening up. In recent years, Yantai has carried out extensive cooperation with Spain in areas such as economic and trade investment, sister-city exchanges, agricultural development, and cultural and educational cooperation, achieving fruitful results. It has established friendly relations with cities including Alcalá de Henares and Gijón. In 2025, Yantai's import and export volume with Spain reached 7.15 billion yuan, a surge of 161.7%, and from January to July this year, imports and exports amounted to 3.06 billion yuan, indicating that the sound cooperative relationship continues to consolidate and deepen.
This event provided an important platform for Chinese and Spanish cities to enhance friendship, build consensus, and expand cooperation, while also building a bridge for Yantai to deepen friendly exchanges with Spanish cities. It promoted the sharing of advanced experience in urban governance, cultural tourism development, and green construction. Simultaneously, it created favorable conditions for Yantai's competitive industries to expand into the Spanish market, empowering and enhancing Yantai's efforts to build a demonstration city of green, low-carbon, and high-quality development, and to promote a higher level of openness.
