U.S. ambassador warns Spain over China ties in strategic sectors

Washington’s new ambassador in Madrid used one of his first public speeches to draw a line around Spain’s China policy, warning that deeper commercial ties with Beijing could undercut trust in the security relationship with the United States.

Benjamin Leon said Spain should move carefully as it expands ties with China, especially in data infrastructure, defense systems, telecommunications and other critical sectors. He tied the warning to Huawei and to firms that work with the Chinese telecom giant, which Washington sees as a national security risk. Leon argued that Chinese companies are pressing to dominate key technologies and that Europe risks greater coercion, weaker supply chains and fresh security vulnerabilities if that reach goes too far.

The message landed at a delicate moment for Madrid. Pedro Sánchez traveled to Beijing in April for his fourth China visit in as many years, looking to deepen economic ties even as he called the trade imbalance between Spain and China unsustainable. Spain’s trade deficit with China widened to about €42.3 billion, or $49.1 billion, in 2025, and Sánchez said China accounted for 74% of Spain’s overall trade deficit. Chinese firms also stepped up their investment in Spain, putting in €643 million in 2025, up from €149 million a year earlier, with total Chinese investment in Spain reaching €9.7 billion from 2010 to 2025, concentrated mainly in extractive industries and energy.

Leon’s warning also reflected the wider strain in transatlantic relations. Spain has already clashed with Washington over defense spending commitments to NATO and over access to Spanish military bases and airspace in the U.S.-led war against Iran. By linking commercial exposure to intelligence cooperation, the ambassador signaled that the U.S. government sees China’s presence in critical infrastructure not just as a trade issue but as a test of alliance reliability.

The dispute reaches beyond Spain. Germany and Spain have been leading opposition to European Commission plans to ban Chinese technology suppliers from telecom networks under new cybersecurity rules, showing how the fight over de-risking versus decoupling is now moving inside the European Union itself. Leon’s warning suggested that Madrid’s effort to balance trade with China while preserving strategic confidence with Washington may become a model for the harder choices Europe now faces.