BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) — China’s top legislator Zhao Leji and speaker of the Portuguese parliament Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco on Wednesday held talks in Beijing, where they reached an agreement to promote practical cooperation between the two countries.
Zhao, chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said China and Portugal are traditional friendly countries and comprehensive strategic partners with mutual respect, mutual trust and win-win cooperation.
China is willing to work with Portugal to respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and continuously build and expand consensus on the basis of equality and sincere dialogue, Zhao said.
Zhao called on both sides to strengthen the alignment of development strategies, expand two-way investment, and broaden cooperation in areas such as new energy, digital economy, and artificial intelligence.
Noting that the two sides should deepen cooperation in culture, science and technology, education and tourism, and build a solid public opinion foundation for bilateral ties, Zhao called for making good use of mechanisms such as the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, expand trilateral cooperation with Africa, Latin America and other regions, and jointly practice true multilateralism.
Zhao said the NPC of China is willing to work with the Portuguese parliament to enhance friendly exchanges at multiple levels and in various fields, expand the exchange of experience in legislation and supervision, provide legal guarantees for bilateral practical cooperation, and better contribute to the development of bilateral ties.
Zhao also called on the two sides to exchange experiences around the construction of legal systems for ecological and environmental protection, and strengthen cooperation in promoting relevant domestic legislation and international rules.
Aguiar-Branco said Portugal firmly adheres to the one-China policy, adding that deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Portugal and China is an important consensus among all political parties in Portugal.
In the face of uncertainties in the international situation, Portugal hopes to enhance the strategic nature of Portuguese-China relations, jointly adhere to multilateralism, advance cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade and culture, promote the healthy development of EU-China relations, and enhance the stability and certainty of the world, Aguiar-Branco said.
Aguiar-Branco said the Portuguese parliament is ready to foster friendly exchanges with the NPC of China and make contributions to promote practical cooperation between the two countries and enhance friendship between the two peoples.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Aguiar-Branco the same day. He said China is willing to work with Portugal to jointly expand cooperation using Macao as a platform, promote the China-EU partner positioning, and maintain international unity and cooperation.
Aguiar-Branco said the Portuguese side appreciates the successful implementation of “one country, two systems” in Macao and hopes to further promote bilateral practical cooperation and multilateral communication and collaboration with China.
