The meeting in Beijing came on the second day of Sanchez's visit as he seeks to position Spain as a bridge between China and the European Union, whose relations with the United States are under strain.

Xi told Sanchez the two countries should strengthen cooperation in the face of global "chaos and turmoil" and "a contest between justice and force", according to a readout of the talks from state broadcaster CCTV.

"Both China and Spain are principled countries that stand for justice. They should strengthen communication, consolidate mutual trust, and cooperate closely to oppose the world's regression to the law of the jungle," Xi said during talks in the Great Hall of the People.

"How a country treats international law and the international order reflects its worldview, its conception of order, its values, and its sense of responsibility," Xi said.

Spain and China should "seize opportunities" for cooperation in trade, new energy and technology fields, he said.

Sanchez welcomed China's role in seeking to resolve the conflict in the Middle East, after a first round of US-Iranian negotiations in Pakistan ended without an agreement.

"The role China can play is important in order to find diplomatic means that end this war and contribute to stability and peace," Sanchez told a news conference after the talks.

The Socialist leader said international law in the region "is being violated basically by one country", Israel, which invaded Lebanon in its latest conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Sanchez referred to "those who commit violations or genocides, which is what we are seeing in Gaza, and let us hope the same does not happen in Lebanon, that crimes do not go unpunished".

- 'Unsustainable' trade balance -

The two leaders also discussed "the reforms our multilateral system needs to better recognise the multipolar reality of today's world", Sanchez said.

The Spanish prime minister is seeking to strengthen economic ties with the world's second-largest economy but called China's trade imbalance with the EU "unsustainable" on Monday.

He is on his fourth visit to China in four years and follows a steady flow of Western leaders visiting Beijing in recent months as President Donald Trump's tariffs and unpredictable foreign policy have rattled the US's traditional allies.

Spanish government sources said a primary goal of Sanchez's trip is to secure greater market access for agricultural and industrial goods, and to explore joint technology ventures.

European officials have for years pressed China to agree to voluntary limits on exports of low-cost goods and minimum pricing rules, saying state subsidies give Chinese firms an unfair advantage.

But China is unlikely to offer more than selective trade concessions because its economic model relies on export-led growth, said Liana Fix, a Europe fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington-based think tank.

"It is very likely to continue exporting large volumes of heavily subsidised, low-cost products to the European market, which will remain a challenge for Europe's industrial base going forward," she told AFP.

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