Spain sees chance to repair ties with US as it hosts China trade talks

By Charlie Devereux and Aislinn Laing

MADRID (Reuters) -Spain sees hosting talks between the United States and China in the coming days as a chance to repair ties with Donald Trump's government, days after Washington described its plan to impede arms sales to Israel as "emboldening terrorists".

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng chose Madrid as the venue to continue their discussions, and a government source said Spain would make use of that opportunity.

The U.S. on Tuesday said measures announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to limit access to Spanish ports and airspace for ships and planes carrying weapons for Israel were "deeply concerning" because they might limit U.S. operations.

Under an agreement signed in 1953, the U.S. military has used the Morón air base and the Rota naval base, both in southern Spain, for more than 70 years.

Sanchez also angered Washington when he said Spain would not meet demands for NATO members to raise defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product, prompting Trump to threaten to raise tariffs against Spain.

As Spain's ties with the U.S. have deteriorated, its relations with China have warmed.

Sanchez has visited China three times in as many years, and switched his vote to abstain on whether the EU should apply tariffs to Chinese EVs, having supported them, as he seeks to position Spain as an interlocutor between China and the EU.

That the U.S. was able to use Spain's military bases for refuelling during its bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in June shows that Spain never overstepped the line and that its transatlantic relationship remains intact, said José-Ignacio Torreblanca, senior adviser to the Madrid office of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"We do not yet know who requested it (Spain hosting the meeting) - whether it was the Chinese - but it is good for Spain," Torreblanca said. He added that Spain's government would get the opportunity to speak with Bessent and discuss its concerns, and this would give Madrid "an advantage" in future negotiations with Washington.

(Reporting by Charlie Devereux and Aislinn Laing, Editing by William Maclean)