A new chapter for the China-Portugal relationship

"Here where the earth ends and the sea begins," said president Xi Jinping, referring to Portugal and quoting perhaps the country’s most influential poet, Luís de Camões, who lived in Macao almost 500 years ago. "Bilateral relations between both countries are now in the best of times"; "the strategic partnership" is being brought "to a new level"; the relationship is marked by "mutual trust" – these were among the words used by Xi Jinping on the current state of diplomatic relations between China and Portugal.

Ahead of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which will be celebrated in 2019, the Portuguese president extended a warm welcome to his Chinese counterpart. "Mr President Xi Jinping, please feel at home, as we did in China for five hundred years,’ said president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, demonstrating a close, friendly, longstanding connection between both countries, while preparing to take a new step towards a common path of openness and inclusion, promoting free trade, peace, stability and prosperity.

This was the starting point for a number of memorandums of understanding signed by China and Portugal in areas such as culture, resources, science, technology, service, language, and education, in a total of 17 protocols. Among them was a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), involving both land and sea routes and with an emphasis on infrastructure. The memorandum sets out some of the possibilities for bilateral cooperation under BRI, covering a wide range of sectors, particularly connectivity and electric mobility.

The memorandum on cooperation in service looks set to deepen exchanges between the countries. This will be one of the "bilateral dialogue points" of a mixed economic commission, which will cover areas such as transportation, finance, intellectual property, technology and culture. In 2019 the two countries will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and 20 years since Macao was returned to Chinese sovereignty. A memorandum on cultural festival programming will define the events held in both countries to mark the occasion.

Meanwhile the memorandum linked to "Portugal-China Partnership 2030" will establish the terms and conditions for the promotion and development of scientific and technologic cooperation. It includes space science, climate, advanced computing, nano-science and digital linguistics.

Additionally the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP) announced that it has signed an e-commerce agreement with JD.com, as it had on November 29 with Alibaba. The creation of a new flight route between Xi'an and Lisbon was also announced and the possibility of Chinese investment in the Portuguese railroad system or port shipping and logistics are to be further discussed.

On international and diplomatic matters, due to the similar positions held by both China and Portugal, a joint effort was proposed, which would promote and develop free trade and multilateralism with other countries in the European Union, Africa and South America, as well as international organizations, such as the World Trade Organization. Other topics included global governance, climate change and the reform of the United Nations Security Council.

To illustrate the increasing closeness of the relationship of between China and Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa accepted Xi Jinping’s invitation to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative forum, followed by an official state visit, which will take place next April, commemorating the year of Portugal in China and the year of China in Portugal.

The author is a researcher and lecturer in Chinese medicine at the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a lecturer at the Polytechnic Institute of Setubal, Portugal.