Chinese Ambassador to Portugal Cai Run has said his government considers that the issue by the Portuguese government of debt denominated in yuan will be beneficial for China and Portugal alike, Lusa reports.
The Portuguese news agency quotes Mr Cai as saying the issue will open up a new alternative for Portugal to raise money and make the yuan more widely used outside China.
Mr Cai said he is confident the first Portuguese debt denominated in yuan would be issued soon, making Portugal the first country in the euro zone to offer such debt.
The Chinese central bank gave the Portuguese government permission in 2017 to issue debt denominated in yuan, and last October Portuguese state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Bank of China struck an agreement on the issue.
The report quotes the ambassador as saying Portugal gets more Chinese investment than all but four other countries, and joins China in investing elsewhere in Europe and in Portuguese-speaking parts of the world.
The value of Chinese investment in Portugal has exceeded €9 billion (about US$10.23 billion) since 2011, and Portuguese investment in China has increased steadily, Lusa quotes Mr Cai as saying.
