The Spaniards that Chinese President Xi Jinping will reward in person

Only two Europeans hold the title of Ambassador of the Friendship of the Chinese People and both are Spanish: the late Juan Antonio Samaranch -whom China wanted to thank for his efforts so that the country could organize its Olympic Games in 2008- and the cacereo Marcelo Muoz, an economist born 89 years ago in Jaraz de la Vera and who received a call a few days ago from the Chinese embassy to inform him of his appointment, news that he welcomed “honored, happy and with great enthusiasm.” Muoz will receive the high distinction from President Xi Jinping at a gala dinner to be held on October 11 in Beijing as part of the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the People's Republic of China.

But what has this restless Extremadura done to deserve an honour that the Chinese reserve exclusively for their friends? “dear madam”?

Marcelo has 46 years of commercial, intellectual and vital relations with China, and he is perhaps one of the Europeans who best knows the political ins and outs of the Great Dragon, as well as its culture, history and economy. He was the first Spaniard to open a trade office in China in 1978 and since then he has made 130 trips there, he has lived for six years in these distant lands that he has visited on several occasions (he knows more than a hundred cities) and he has introduced China to 150 Spanish companies.

At the same time, he has written four books on the Asian colossus (“The Chinese Enigma”, “China 2025”, “China in the 21st Century” and the most recent, “China is Back to Stay”, which will be translated into Chinese, English, French, German, Korean and Japanese), is a co-founder of China chair -a laboratory of ideas born in 2012 as a space for dialogue between Spain and China and composed of intellectuals, businessmen and experts from both countries- and which chairs the Chinese Chair Foundation, recently created.

direct witness

Marcelo, who in addition to being an economist is a philosopher and theologian, landed in Beijing in the late 1970s, in the heat of the openness policy initiated by the then president, Deng Xiaoping, to encourage foreign investment. “He spoke of openness and we believed in it” remembers Muoz, who saw an opportunity in the foreign trade sector of diapers in this post-Franco Spain. I created Incoteco, a consultancy to open the Chinese market to Spanish companies. “I called the companies to tell them and they ran away, hahaha. 'Are you doing business with Communist China?' they said.”. But there have been companies (Repsol or Cepsa, for example) that, with more foresight, saw the opportunity, accepted the services of this pioneer and managed to multiply their business volume.

Since 1978, he has witnessed from the inside China's astonishing transformation over the past four decades, during which the country has gone from the world's 120th largest to its second largest. “I believe that there is no Spaniard or European who has such a direct and continuous experience,” He seems a little hurt (although he does not say so) by the silence of the Sánchez government in the face of an appointment so extraordinary that he is the only living European who can boast of it.

He only regrets not having learned.”GOOD“Mandarin (“I tried and I gave classes every day at the end of the day, but at that time they called me from Madrid and, in plain language, they ruined my class”, but at least he botches it enough to be able to thank the discreet Xi for the medal that will be awarded to him on the 11th and “which puts the cherry on the cake of a life dedicated to China.” The absence of his “wife, friend, companion and ally” Paquita, who died a few years ago and who was a fundamental pillar of his life, will weigh on his heart. They had no children.

Marcelo says what he likes most about China is that it's another world. “And if we don't accept that it's another world, we won't understand anything about China or the future. We have to learn almost everything from them and they have to learn a lot from us,” he added. illustrated.