Portugal, China enjoy sound relations, eye more cooperation -- think tank

Portugal and China enjoy sound and solid relations, as well as a prospect for cooperation, said Rui Lourido, chairman of Observatory for China, a Portuguese think tank.

Lourido said in a statement published on the think tank's official website that he thinks highly of the traditional Portugal-China relations, which were deepened and widened by the exchange of high-level visits.

He recalled that the Chinese investment came in Portugal when the country was stuck in the debt crisis.

Chinese investors "were the only ones (during the serious Troika Crisis) to invest (in Portugal) ... in the form designed and accepted by the Portuguese government," he said.

Lourido takes a positive and optimistic attitude to the prospects for Portugal-China cooperation, saying that in the field of communications technology, many mobile operators have already started cooperation with China.

"Many companies have made large investments in technology of Chinese origin in 4G and are preparing for 5G, with China being the most advanced country in this technology and practicing the most competitive prices," said Lourido.

"The same is true in many other sectors ... namely in renewable energies and in the fight against climate change," the chairman noted.

He said that currently, Portugal needs to build better connectivity with Europe and other countries and regions in the world by the new piers in Port of Sines.

The Portuguese side hoped that the most qualified enterprise will win the bid for this project, so that it can better connect the Iberian Peninsula with Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, especially the areas covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.

In the current context, the chairman said that the Portuguese side should "look eastward," seeking support in economic cooperation with Eastern countries.

China has made remarkable achievements in education, technology and poverty eradication among others and has stood out in the struggle to deepen globalization, in the defense of multilateralism and in the resolution of international conflicts, through dialogue and the strengthening of international organizations, Lourido said.

China has always abided by the United Nations Charter and norms of international relations in foreign relations and has never asked other countries to follow China's political system or ideology, he said.

Against the backdrop of the rampant epidemic of COVID-19, "China has already started to recover economically and will be one of the main drivers of the development of the world economy and the one that will contribute the most so that the world GDP per capita does not stagnate," the chairman said.