Bright future for ties with Portuguese-speaking nations

The economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries has continued to grow steadily recently, showing strong resilience and development potential, a forum in Macao heard on June 19.

In fact, this has laid a good foundation for deepening infrastructure cooperation between the two sides, according to speakers at the 10th Forum of Infrastructure Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries & Business Meeting of Infrastructure Cooperation between Macao, Shandong and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The forum — which was attended by diplomats, experts and other guests — focused on the hot topic of green innovation and transformation of infrastructure, incorporating elements of Shandong province as a major province in contracting projects and manufacturing equipment. Speakers at the forum were invited to examine various ways to strengthen cooperation in the fields of green technology, digital economy, green finance and clean energy.

The event was also aimed at stimulating green and low-carbon development of infrastructure in the Chinese mainland, Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries, and sharing opportunities for cooperation in new infrastructure projects.

Ambassador Maria Gustava, head of Portuguese-speaking Countries' Diplomatic Corps in China, noted that these nations are in urgent need of developing infrastructure such as energy, water, roads, bridges, railways, housing, and telecommunications. Such infrastructure will not only help to meet the people's basic needs, but also to enable these countries to truly participate in international trade, and to embrace the new concept of infrastructure construction in the digital age.

"Therefore, we are ready to cooperate with China, a strong and trusted partner," Gustava said in a speech delivered via video link.

"We firmly believe that we can work with China to promote sustainable development of infrastructure and share the cooperation opportunities brought by new infrastructure projects," she noted, adding that cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries can focus on a more comprehensive investment strategy to promote people's well-being and global prosperity.

Fang Qiuchen, chairman of the China International Contractors Association, said that infrastructure has always been a key area of cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Over the years, the two sides have actively cooperated in fields such as transportation, communications, water conservancy and electricity, promoting hard connectivity of infrastructure, soft connectivity of rules and standards, and heart-to-heart connectivity with the people of Portuguese-speaking countries, he added.

Zhang Qingwei, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, said Shandong is one of the provinces with the strongest infrastructure construction in China. Over the years, the province has actively promoted the high-quality integration of powerful enterprises into the Belt and Road Initiative, he added.

Shandong is willing to further strengthen economic and trade cooperation and exchanges with Portuguese-speaking countries, share new ideas, technologies and products for Shandong's green and low-carbon transformation and development, actively participate in the construction of green infrastructure in these countries, promote green and low-carbon development, and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results, Zhang said.

He added, "The cooperation between Shandong and Portuguese-speaking countries will surely bear more fruits and reach a new level."

Gastáo de Sousa, minister of planning and strategic investment of Timor-Leste, talked about the immense opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for his nation. "Timor-Leste stands at a pivotal juncture in its development journey, with infrastructure playing a crucial role in our strategic vision for sustainable growth and prosperity," he said.

"We are keen to explore opportunities for public-private partnerships, joint ventures, and knowledge exchange to advance our infrastructure agenda," de Sousa added.

"China and Portuguese-speaking countries have carried out fruitful cooperation in traditional infrastructure fields such as transportation, electricity, telecommunications and energy," said Ji Xianzheng, secretary-general of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao).

"Chinese companies have completed contracted projects with a cumulative turnover of $140 billion, making important contributions to improving people's livelihood and promoting economic recovery."

At the same time, green transformation and the application of digital and intelligent innovative technologies have injected new momentum into promoting cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in green economy, digital economy, high-tech and other fields, Ji added.

Vincent U, president of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, pointed out that Shandong province, Macao SAR and Portuguese-speaking countries can collaborate in green infrastructure. He said that Macao's current focus is on promoting a moderately diversified economic development strategy.

The 6th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) was successfully held in Macao from April 21 to 23.

Ministers from the participating countries signed the Strategic Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation (2024-27) to support the participating countries in continuing to strengthen cooperation in the field of infrastructure, recognizing the value of organizing a parallel forum during each International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum by the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao.