When Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told students at Tsinghua University that China must help shape a multipolar world, he was not indulging in rhetoric. He was articulating a strategic reality — and quietly signaling a more calibrated European approach.

At a time when some European capitals frame China chiefly through “de-risking” and “rivalry”, Spain has chosen a steadier and wiser course. As one of the European Union’s largest economies, Madrid recognizes a basic truth: Disengagement from the world’s second-largest economy is not strategy — it is self-limitation. Spain’s approach rests not on sentiment but on a disciplined assessment of mutual interests and the willingness to act on them.

Adversarial posturing may project a tough image, but it carries real costs.

First, loss of influence. Diplomacy requires presence. A nation that withdraws from engagement cannot credibly signal dissent or negotiate for concessions, because it has no channel to communicate complaints or rewards. China, facing 27 EU members, will prioritize dialogue with those who remain at the table — not those who leave it. Dialogue preserves leverage: Not only to expand cooperation but to raise legitimate concerns and negotiate adjustments as conditions evolve.

Second, economic consequences. China is not only a massive market of over 1.4 billion increasingly affluent consumers, disrupting access to Chinese supply chains would also raise costs and disrupt progress such as slowing Europe’s green transition. Unless European firms can source renewable energy components and advanced manufacturing inputs elsewhere at comparable price and scale — which they currently cannot — decoupling becomes a tax on Europe’s own industrial competitiveness.

Third, loss of strategic flexibility. Rigid policies narrow future options. If a financial crisis or global pandemic requires coordination among leading economies, a country that has severed channels cannot quickly rebuild trust. Spain’s approach reflects an enlightened long-term view: Engagement is not concession; it is the precondition for influence.

Some assert that engagement without conditionality would allow China to easily foil European attempts to secure Chinese concessions over industrial policy-related disputes. The rebuttal is twofold: First, disengagement removes all conditions, leaving Europe with no leverage at all; second, Spain’s approach uses sector-specific reciprocity — agricultural market access in exchange for renewables investment — rather than blanket confrontation. Wise, selective leverage outperforms symbolic rupture.

Spain-China relations today extend beyond traditional trade into areas of strategic importance.

Spain’s approach reflects a broader lesson for Europe: In a complex, often uncertain and interdependent world, pragmatic engagement is not merely a smart option. It is the most effective path to preserving influence, advancing prosperity, and shaping outcomes

Agriculture remains a strong pillar, with Spanish products such as pork, olive oil, and wine reaching a growing consumer base in China. More importantly, cooperation is expanding into technology and sustainability.

Spain has developed significant expertise in solar and wind energy. China plays a leading role in manufacturing key components such as photovoltaic panels and batteries. A collaborative model does not merely accelerate the energy transition for the world; it lowers Spain’s decarbonization cost curve, while giving Madrid joint leverage over future supply chain rules.

In the electric vehicle sector, Spain has maintained an open investment environment. Partnerships with global firms, including Chinese companies, are helping strengthen Spain’s position as a manufacturing hub within Europe. These initiatives generate employment, enhance technological capacity, and reinforce supply chain resilience. These are not abstract benefits. They translate into jobs, innovation, and tangible economic gains, while contributing to broader global climate goals.

Pragmatism fails unless it prices the risks of continued engagement against the certainty of exit costs. Spanish policymakers and businesses remain attentive to concerns such as market access, regulatory asymmetries, and fair competition.

Madrid’s strategy is to address these issues through continued engagement rather than ruptures. This reflects a disciplined understanding: Disengagement reduces leverage, while sustained dialogue creates space for negotiation and positive, incremental progress.

Spain seeks a more balanced economic relationship — through recalibration, not confrontation. It combines openness with vigilance, cooperation with clarity.

The alternative — policy driven more by reflex and age-old biases than reason — risks confusing posture with power. Efforts to restrict engagement may not significantly alter China’s steady upward trajectory, but they would diminish Europe’s own economic dynamism and global relevance.

Spain offers a different path: One that recognizes that cooperation and healthy competition can coexist, and that influence depends on staying engaged.

While others mistake disengagement for resolve, Spain calculates that absence yields no leverage. History does not reward the withdrawn; it rewards the persistent who negotiate as a friend and economic partner without illusion.

Spain’s approach reflects a broader lesson for Europe: In a complex, often uncertain and interdependent world, pragmatic engagement is not merely a smart option. It is the most effective path to preserving influence, advancing prosperity, and shaping outcomes.

That is Spain’s lesson. And it may well be Europe’s strategic choice.

The author is an economics and politics analyst, award-winning columnist of the Philippine Star and Abante newspapers, college teacher, book author and moderator of the Pandesal Forum.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.