China urges Spain to protect legitimate rights of Chinese nationals

China's Ambassador to Spain last week met with the governor of the Bank of Spain regarding the ongoing issue of Chinese citizens having their bank accounts blocked in the country.

Hundreds of Chinese citizens took to the streets of Madrid on Feb 15, in a rare protest against Spain's BBVA bank, accusing it of indulging in "racism."

The bank said it had frozen accounts to comply with measures to fight money laundering, adding it was working to resolve the problem.

Media reports suggest all the banks in Spain are seeking additional documents, detailing their tax situation and income, from Chinese customers before they may reopen their blocked accounts or reopen new ones.

In the meeting, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, the Bank of Spain governor, told the Chinese Ambassador Lyu Fan that the Spanish government has increased its crackdown on tax evasion and money laundering activities, in accordance with the relevant anti-money laundering laws.

He added that the relevant laws and regulations are open to all personnel and do not target any immigrant group. Whether it was a large company or a small enterprise, if there is a tax problem, it will face control, he explained.

"In practice, there may be problems such as improper understanding of the policy by the bank and excessive operation," he said.

Lyu said strengthening financial supervision is an international trend, and China is constantly working on it as well, but the practices of some Spanish banks have not been based on the specific circumstances of the accounts, but generally restricted, frozen, and cancelled.

"The implementation of financial regulatory policies should not be a reason for infringing the legitimate rights and interests of legitimate customers, including Chinese citizens," Lyu said.

Hernandez de Cos said: "The Bank of Spain is willing to communicate with relevant commercial banks on this issue in the near future and issue instructions to correctly understand the policy and avoid affecting the legitimate rights and interests of customers during the implementation process."

Thousands of Chinese people living in Spain have found their bank accounts blocked or cancelled without notification. Most of the customers are with Spanish bank BBVA, but some affected are with Santander and La Caixa.

The issue has lasted for more than six months, with some larger Chinese accounts blocked during the recent Chinese Spring Festival holiday period.

After the Chinese BBVA customers staged the Feb 15 protest, outside the group's Madrid offices, the bank apologized but denied accusations of discrimination.

In a statement, BBVA spokesman Alvaro Calleja said: "We are deeply sorry for any inconvenience caused by our decision to block certain customers' bank accounts over the last few days. We are sensitive to these circumstances and we have rolled out the measures required to mitigate these impacts."

"For BBVA and for everyone that works at the bank, customers are at the heart of our activity, and we absolutely and unequivocally reject any form of unjustified discrimination," he added.

On Feb 18, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang answered questions on the matter at a regular news conference.

"The embassy of China in Spain has received complaints from Chinese citizens, including students there, that their bank accounts have been arbitrarily frozen. The Chinese embassy has expressed its concern to the Spanish side and offered assistance to the relevant Chinese citizens within its scope of duties," Geng told reporters in Beijing.

Geng added: "The Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens overseas and hopes that the Spanish side will take effective measures to earnestly guarantee the legitimate rights of Chinese citizens in Spain."