China and Spain have pledged to deepen ties and safeguard global peace and development amid an international order that President Xi Jinping called "crumbling" in remarks during a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing.
The visit by Sanchez comes as many Western governments are seeking to maintain ties with Beijing despite lingering security and trade tensions, as discomfort grows over the policies of their key ally, the US.
"In today's world, chaos abounds, and the international order is crumbling," Xi said on Tuesday, adding that deeper ties were in the interests of both China and Spain.
He urged stronger communication and trust to "uphold the rule of law, jointly defend genuine multilateralism, and safeguard global peace and development".
Sanchez said international law was repeatedly being undermined and called for closer ties to promote peace and prosperity.
"It is more necessary today than ever so that together we can establish an even stronger bond between China and the European Union," Sanchez said.
The latest of his counterparts from Britain, Canada, Finland and Ireland to visit China this year, Sanchez has urged China, the world's second-largest economy, to take a larger role in global issues.
These ranged from climate crisis to security, defence and the fight against inequality, he said on Monday, calling for Europe to redouble its efforts as the United States has decided to withdraw from many of these fronts.
Spain has been one of Europe's loudest proponents of expanding trade and treating China as a strategic ally, rather than the economic and geopolitical rival seen by Trump.
Earlier, Sanchez called China's trade imbalance with the European Union "unsustainable" as he began a three-day visit to Beijing.
Sanchez's visit is his fourth to China in four years.
