Lisbon has made clear its wish for Portuguese passport holders to be granted visa-free entry to China, the Portuguese minister for economy Pedro Reis said in an interview with the Lusa news agency on Monday.
Reis says he brought up the subject with his Chinese counterparts while attending Forum Macao’s 6th Ministerial Conference, which ends today.
“Portugal has signalled this matter, that we would very much like to be included in the group of countries [that have a visa exemption],” the minister said.
Currently, there are 10 European countries on the list, which was first announced in December 2023 and later expanded in March 2024. In spite of its historic ties with China through Macao, Portugal was noticeably left out of the program both times.
[See more: Portugal will be on China’s next visa-waiver list, Chinese ambassador says]
Reis was unable to explain the reason behind Portugal’s continued absence from the initiative, noting that “it’s a question more for China than for Portugal.”
China’s denial of visa exemption rights for Portugal has been met with confusion by Lisbon’s envoy in Beijing, Paulo Nascimento. Last month, he told Lusa that the decision was “difficult to understand,” although he and other experts believe that the move was not intended to be a rebuff, especially in relation to Lisbon’s de facto ban on Huawei 5G technology.
A breakthrough does appear to be on the table, with the Chinese ambassador in Portugal, Zhao Bentang, stating late last month that he believed Portugal would be part of the next phase of the visa waiver list. Chinese officials, however, have yet to make any announcements regarding a third wave of exemptions.
Beijing’s implementation of the visa-free program coincided with a slowdown in the Chinese economy in recent years, which saw foreign direct investment in 2023 falling by 80 percent year-on-year.
