Today at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi Jinping told Pedro Sánchez something no Western leader has heard from China in years: “Both China and Spain have principles and advocate for justice. We are willing to be on the right side of history.” Xi went further: “The international order is crumbling into disarray” and called to jointly resist “the law of the jungle.”

The context says it all. On March 3, Trump threatened to “cut off all trade with Spain.” Sánchez’s response? Board a plane and fly straight to Beijing for the fourth time in four years. They signed investment, green development and technology agreements. The US Treasury Secretary warned Spain would be “cutting their own throat” by getting closer to China. Sánchez didn’t seem impressed.

This also can’t be understood without remembering that Spain just took 9 measures against Israel: arms embargo, permanent ambassador withdrawal, and Sánchez said “the only country systematically violating international law is Israel.” China and Spain agree on that.