Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Spain on Tuesday for a state visit, aiming to consolidate traditional friendships and strengthen cooperation after the two countries established diplomatic relations 45 years ago.  

The visit also serves as a feather in the cap in that China is keen to keep opening up its market and improving its business environment to allow Spanish companies to expand their businesses, from electric suppliers to financial institutions.

Spanish electric supply company Simon came to China in the late 1990s and has grown from a joint venture office to an enterprise owning nearly 30 offices and 2,000 distributors across the country. The company even established a research team last year to meet the demands of the Chinese market.

"China is really helping us and giving us a lot of possibilities and taking care of the company. More businesses are going to be developed here in China because we can see Chinese people are really interested in our products," said Gonzalo Batista Guerrero, the business director of Simon Asia-Pacific.

China's favorable policies for financial institutions have benefited the Spanish banks. Bank Sabadell, which set up its first office in China in 1991, was the first Spanish bank investing in the world's second largest economy. It provides services including finance, international investment and clearing assistance to both Spanish and Chinese companies. The bank's chief representative in Shanghai said China's new policy of allowing foreign financial institutions to hold a majority stake in local finance firms means a lot to them.

"Even if we don't have concrete plans. But in the mid-term and long run, Banco Sabadell would be very interested in taking advantage of this new regulation for doing more things in a better way in China which we really consider as a very important market," said Guillermo Diaz Sevilla, the chief representative of Bank Sabadell in the Shanghai office.

Banking and manufacturing are not the only areas Spanish companies take an interest in. More than 600 Spanish firms from industries such as agriculture, fashion and logistics have invested in China.

The Spanish government is also active in encouraging more two-way investments between Spain and China. During the recently concluded China International Import Expo (CIIE), 36 Spanish companies showed off products ranging from clothing to food and tourism. 

"They are grateful to have this platform to showcase different products from Spain and offer [them] to Chinese customers," said Lei Ren, the executive director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

China is now Spain's largest trading partner outside the European Union (EU). As of the end of August, Spain had invested in about 2,500 projects worth 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in China, making Spain China's sixth largest business partner within the EU.