Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Spain is expected to pave a new path for future cooperation and open a new chapter for bilateral relations, according to Spanish statesmen and entrepreneurs.

Xi’s state visit to Spain is scheduled from Nov. 27 to 29, marking a milestone in the history of the two countries bilateral relations. His state visit will be the first to the country by a Chinese head of state in 13 years and also falls on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Spain and China.

Spain looks forward to Xi’s visit and hopes it will be used to further explore the potential of bilateral cooperation, said Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell.

Strengthening economic and trade ties with China has become a common aspiration of the Spanish business community, said Juan Pablo Lazaro, vice president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations.

Spain and China are active advocates and defenders of free trade, said Juan Pablo Lazaro, adding that he hopes that enterprises in both countries will use this opportunity to further expand contacts and make more contributions to the two countries’ economic development.

Spain is an important participant of the Belt and Road Initiative and also one of the founders of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Spain is expected to take this opportunity to more actively participate in the construction of the initiative and further tap the potential of bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism, and culture, as well as to expand cooperation in third-party markets such as Latin America and Africa, according to Eugenio Bregolat Obiols, the former Spanish ambassador to China.

Spain is among the first EU countries to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. Spain is presently China’s sixth largest EU trade partner and China is its largest non-EU trade partner.