‍‍The Ambassador of Spain to China (Rotating Presidency of the EU),  H.E. Mr. Rafael Dezcallar，and Commercial Counsellor Mr.Alfonso NORIEGA visited Jinan, Shandong, and attended the unveiling ceremony of the "Sino-Spanish Clean Energy & Deep-Sea Engineering Equipment Innovation Demonstration Zone" at Iraeta Forgings.

‍‍‍Friendly meeting with provincial and municipal leaders

‍‍On the 19th, H.E. Mr. Rafael Dezcallar held talks with Lin Wu, Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress, as well as Zhang Haibo, Member of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary-General. Accompanying them were Riberas, Chairman of ACEK Group and Chairman of GRI Renewable Energy Group, and Niu Yugang, Chairman of IRAETA.

‍‍Lin Wu first extended a warm welcome to Ambassador Desgaya on behalf of the Provincial Party Committee and Government. He said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. The leaders of the two countries have exchanged congratulatory messages, unanimously agreeing to jointly write a new chapter of friendly cooperation between China and Spain. This provides guidance for Shandong Province to deepen cooperation with Spanish regions. Shandong attaches great importance to friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with Spanish regions. It hopes that both sides will deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, manufacturing, culture, tourism, and energy, and create a new chapter of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

‍‍Mr. Rafael Dezcallar stated that there is enormous potential for cooperation between Spanish regions and Shandong Province in fields such as economy, energy, culture, and education. He hopes that, taking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain as an opportunity, the exchanges and interactions between the two sides will become even closer, and the diverse cooperation will go deeper, further advancing the development of friendly relations.‍‍

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‍‍‍Leaders of Shandong Province met with the Ambassador and his entourage

‍‍Visiting IRAETA

‍The Ambassador Mr. Rafael Dezcallar and Commercial Counsellor Mr.Alfonso NORIEGA visited Iraeta Forgings in the morning of October 20. This is Ambassador's second visit to Iraeta Forgings, following his participation in the groundbreaking ceremony of Iraeta Nuclear Power Deep-Sea Industrial Park in 2021, after a two-year interval.

‍‍2021 Ambassador  Mr. Rafael Dezcallar Participates in the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Iraeta Nuclear Sea Industrial Park

Group photo of the Ambassadors and their entourage at the foundation stone laying point after a two-year break

‍‍The Ambassador Mr. Rafael Dezcallar and Commercial Counsellor Mr.Alfonso NORIEGA visited Iraeta Forgings in the morning of October 20. Mr. Niu Yugang, Chairman of Iraeta Forgings warmly received the Ambassador and his delegation.During the meeting, Chairman Niu Yugang briefed the Ambassador and his delegation on the current production and operation, R&D investment, technological innovation, and market prospects of the industrial park.

Riberas and Niu Yugang Present Bronze Gifts to Ambassador

Presentation of gifts to the Counselor

‍‍Afterwards, H.E. Mr. Rafael Dezcallar and the delegation embarked on a tour of the  Nuclear Power Deep-Sea Industrial Park Park. Witnessing the emergence of new workshops from a previously vacant plot of land over the past two years, and observing the efficient and orderly production activities within, H.E. Mr. Rafael Dezcallar his profound admiration. He duly acknowledged Iraeta's proactive contributions within the domain of new energy and offered high commendation for the park's facilities and technological breakthroughs.

‍‍Counselor Mr.Alfonso  Noriega  expressed his hope that Iraeta can continue to play a good role as a model of Spanish-Chinese friendship and cooperation, drive more exchanges and cooperation between Spanish and Chinese enterprises, and promote win-win cooperation between the two sides.

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Ambassadors and Counselors visit the brand new factory‍‍

‍‍Group photo of the Ambassadors and their entourage‍‍

‍‍At 10:45 a.m., the formal commencement of the unveiling ceremony for the Sino-Spanish Clean Energy & Deep-Sea Engineering Equipment Innovation Demonstration Zone at Ieaeta took place. Dignitaries present at the event included Mr. Ma Zhiyong, Secretary of the Zhangqiu District Committee of Jinan City, Mr. Lin Haibin, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Shandong Province, Mr. Riberas, Chairman of ACEK Group and GRI Renewable Industries Group, and Ambassador of Spain to China Mr. Rafael Dezcallar, each delivering their respective addresses.

The scene of the unveiling ceremony

Ma Zhiyong mentioned in his speech that the operation of the Iraeta  Nuclear Power Deep Sea Industry Park has effectively promoted the optimization and upgrading of the regional industrial structure, stimulating economic growth and increasing employment, and has made outstanding contributions to the high-quality economic development of Zhangqiu District. In the future, the Zhangqiu government will continue to uphold the concept of open cooperation for mutual benefit and take practical actions to further advance bilateral cooperation to new heights.

‍‍Zhangqiu District Party Committee Secretary Ma Zhiyong's speech

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‍‍Lin Haibin stated that Iraeta is a successful example of cooperation between Jinan and Spain, and it has consistently maintained rapid development. At the new starting point of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain, there is great potential for cooperation between Shandong Province and Spain, with broad prospects. He hopes that this ceremony can serve as an opportunity to continuously deepen exchanges and cooperation between both sides for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Speech by Lin Haibin, Deputy Director General, Shandong Provincial People's Government, Foreign Affairs Office

‍‍Mr.Riberas expressed heartfelt gratitude for the support from various levels of government departments at the provincial, municipal, and district levels for Iraeta over the years. He stated that Shandong's excellent business environment has filled him with confidence in the future of the company. He also greatly appreciated the Ambassador's concern for the construction of the industrial park and expressed his commitment to further promote more economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

‍‍Speech by Riberas, Chairman of ACEK Group and Chairman of GRI Renewable Energy Group

‍‍Ambassador Mr. Rafael Dezcallar expressed that Spain places high importance on the clean energy industry, and the Spanish government is actively developing green and renewable energy. As Shandong is a major manufacturing province with strong manufacturing capabilities and technological expertise, he hopes that both sides can jointly write a new chapter in energy cooperation, making positive contributions to the stable development of relations between China and Spain.

‍‍‍‍Statement by Ambassador Mr. Rafael Dezcallar

Mr.Rafael Dezcallar and Mr. Ma Zhiyong jointly unveiled the plaque for the demonstration site

After the unveiling ceremony, the Ambassador and his delegation visited IRAETA (Jining) High-end Equipment Technology Co., Ltd. Niu Yugang briefed the Ambassador on the company's acquisition and restructuring efforts since 2020, as well as the technological improvements and upgrades. The Ambassador encouraged the company to strengthen technological innovation, enhance the application of new technologies, and strive for better business performance.

‍‍Ambassador and his entourage visited Iraeta Jining Company

‍‍A New Beginning and a New Mission

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‍‍ IRAETA has been an important part of its investment in China since 2006, when it entered into a joint venture with Spain's ACEK Group, an important industrial group in Spain, covering a wide range of business units such as automotive components, steel processing, clean energy, etc., with operations in more than 30 countries around the world, more than 100 factories and offices, and an annual sales revenue of 20 billion euros.

IRAETA is ACEK Group's strongest growing investment segment in the clean energy sector, and a successful example of the joint venture between the two companies, which has seen its assets grow from 110 million dollars to 50 times over the past 17 years. Iraeta 's investment in China has been repeatedly recognized and praised by the Chinese and Western governments and business communities.

The Iraeta Nuclear and Sea Industrial Park is a key construction project in Jinan, with a total investment of 1.7 billion RMB. The foundation stone was laid in May 2021, and it took only 16 months from the acquisition of land to the commissioning and trial operation. ‍‍As an important strategic plan in the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the industrial park adopts the advanced concept of "intelligent low-carbon circular economy", and is committed to creating a green, low-carbon and circular economic development model for the whole industrial chain.‍‍ In terms of power supply, photovoltaic power generation technology is adopted, while the manufacturing process adopts the green forging technology of raw material hot delivery and near-net molding. Meanwhile, in terms of raw material supply, the recycling of processing residues from existing industries is also realized. The final output products are mainly used in offshore wind power, floating wind power, nuclear power, hydropower and other clean energy fields.

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IRAETA Nuclear Deep Sea Industrial Park

‍‍‍‍State-of-the-art production equipment in the division

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‍‍The primary objective of this occasion was to foster heightened mutual trust and communication between enterprises from both nations, capitalizing on their individual strengths, and instigating deeper collaboration in the realms of clean energy and high-end equipment.

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