Portugal's foreign minister Rangel to visit China

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning announced on Friday that Portugal's Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel will visit China from March 24 to 28.

Rangel will be the first foreign minister from a European country to visit China following the annual meetings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body this year.

Mao said Rangel will hold the second China-Portugal strategic dialogue at the foreign ministers' level with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

"The dialogue will mark the first time that such kind of meeting takes place in -person. It is expected to enhance the two sides' communication and collaboration, and to implement important consensuses reached by the two countries' leaders," she said.

The spokeswoman highlighted the longstanding friendship between China and Portugal, saying that friendly cooperation has always been the main theme of their bilateral relations.

Mao said that in recent years, the political mutual trust between China and Portugal has been continuously strengthened and practical cooperation across various fields has yielded fruitful results, setting an example of open and mutually beneficial cooperation for enterprises on both sides.

Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Portugal, Mao said China is committed to working with Portugal to deepen strategic mutual trust, enhance friendly exchanges, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and promote both China-Portugal and China-Europe relations.