[2019-09-26] Portugal’s relationship with China is the best ever, says ambassador

Source: Macauhub

Portugal was the first country in Atlantic Europe to sign a cooperation agreement with China under the Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese ambassador to Portugal wrote in a text published in the China Daily newspaper.

Cai Run also said that Portugal was also the first European Union country to establish a “blue partnership” with China, the first eurozone country to issue Chinese currency Eurobonds and the first continental European country to set up a “Luban working centre” with China.

Lu Ban was a master in the building and sculpting of Chinese history, said the ambassador in the text published in the English language edition of that newspaper.

Portugal was also the fifth-largest investment destination for Chinese companies in Europe, which, according to incomplete statistics, reached around US$9.98 billion, which was invested in energy, electricity, the financial sector, insurance and health, among other areas.

The ambassador pointed out that investment by Portuguese companies in China is growing steadily, although he provided no figures.

Cai Run recalled that this year was the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Portugal.

“The bilateral relationship is, at present, the best ever, with Portugal being a ‘good friend’ of China in the European Union, an important participant in the construction of the Belt and Road, an attractive place for Chinese companies wanting to internationalise and an effective platform for the expansion of trilateral cooperation.