Fedea calls for stricter conditions on Chinese industrial investments in Spain

The Foundation for Applied Economics Studies (Fedea) has called on the Spanish government to tighten conditions for productive investments from China. In a report regarding the ‘China shock 2.0’, the think tank recommends linking public aid to effectively executed investments and the fulfillment of ‘verifiable milestones’ to prevent funds from being allocated to mere initial announcements or commitments.

While Fedea supports an open market policy—noting Spain’s importance as the EU’s second-largest automobile producer and the lack of large domestic manufacturers—it emphasizes that ‘openness does not mean unconditional acceptance.’ The organization argues that projects should not be subsidized without guarantees of return for the local economy.

To prevent competition between different autonomous communities and municipalities, Fedea proposes a ‘single registry of aid and commitments’ to track total public support for each project. Additionally, the report suggests consulting the European Commission on large-scale projects to avoid incompatible foreign subsidies. Fedea also advocates for conditions related to employment, training, and local supplier use to be established through public aid regulations, regardless of the investor's nationality.