In January, the Catalan regional government in Spain created a specialized desk dedicated to increasing investment and trade with China, the world’s second-largest economy.

       In July, the Port of Barcelona approved plans to build a terminal with direct access to the port’s railway for electric vehicles that China is exporting to Europe.

       Last month, during a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the Chinese wind turbine giant Envision Energy agreed to team up with his government and invest $1 billion to build a green hydrogen industrial park.

       The activity is a sign of how Spain is trying to expand its economic ties with China when tensions with the West are growing.

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       “China is a key economic partner” for the European Union and Spain, Carlos Cuerpo, Spain’s economic minister, said from his office in Madrid. “Europe has to find its own way.”

       It is a hard path to locate these days. This week, Europe is increasing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to as much as 45 percent. The European Union maintains that government subsidies have enabled Chinese companies to sell their cars at cut-rate prices, threatening the bloc’s own industry.

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