Portugal’s Ambassador to China, Jorge Torres Pereira, says he is very confident about the future of the relationship between the two countries.
“I am… very optimistic regarding… investment ties as well as commercial ties,” Mr Pereira said in an interview with the Portuguese-language version of Chinese state-run newspaper People’s Daily.
In the interview, published on Tuesday, Mr Pereira said the investment made by China in Portugal had paved the way for mutual learning. “The Chinese [investors] realised that investment in Portugal is also a vehicle, a platform, to deepen relations with companies located in other places, namely in places in Portuguese-speaking Countries,” the diplomat added.
According to Mr Pereira, cultural relations between the two countries are also being developed. He said China would open a cultural centre in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, and Portugal would open one in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
In the interview, Mr Pereira also noted the growing importance of Portuguese language learning in China. “There is a very significant rise in the number of co-operation protocols signed between Chinese and Portuguese institutions,” he said.
