The Chinese ambassador to Portugal, Cai Run, wants cooperation between Portuguese companies and Chinese investors in various areas of economic activity such as traditional Chinese medicine, tourism and education, among others, according to statements made in Lisbon.
The ambassador, who received a delegation from Macau headed by the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macau SAR, Leong Vai Tac, stressed that bilateral cooperation will gain new momentum from 2017, when direct flights between China and Portugal will be launched.
Cai Run also told members of the Macau delegation that the investment by Chinese companies in Portugal have increased continuously and noted that Portugal has taken and continues to take a more open attitude towards Chinese direct foreign investment compared to other European countries.
“Chinese companies are currently present in the energy, healthcare, insurance and banking services in Portugal,” said ambassador Cai Run.
The Macau delegation travelled to Portugal to follow up on the actions set out in the “Memorandum of Understanding for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship and Economic and Business Cooperation” signed by the governments of Portugal and Macauduring the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macau), which took place in October 2016.
At the meeting with the ambassador, Leong Vai Tac said that following the 5th Ministerial Conference of Forum Macau, the territory is committed to enhancing Luso-Chinese cooperation, particularly in transforming Macau into a financial services platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, into a renminbi settlement centre for the Portuguese-speaking countries and an Centre for Exchange on Young Innovation and Entrepreneurship between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries.
During the meeting with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Internationalization, Jorge Costa Oliveira, the two sides discussed how to strengthen the role of Macau as a platform to assist Portuguese products to enter Mainland China and agreed to create specialised groups to coordinate related work.
The Macu delegation also met with the Secretary of State for Industry, João Vasconcelos, having exchanged views on the development of startups on both sides and discussed future guidelines for cooperation, coordination of work and scheduling of that work.
(Macau News / Macauhub)
