On the morning of the 9th, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Portuguese Prime Minister Montenegro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi stated that China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Portugal to make the China-Portugal relationship "get even better." He also called for deeper communication between China and Europe, especially as the international situation becomes increasingly turbulent and intertwined, emphasizing the need to uphold the positioning of the China-Europe partnership. Montenegro responded by saying that China is an irreplaceable partner for Europe and expressed willingness to jointly safeguard multilateralism.
According to the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xi Jinping pointed out that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Portugal. China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Portugal, keep the bilateral relationship on the correct course, make China-Portugal ties even better, and contribute more to the prosperity and progress of both countries and the world through unity and cooperation.
He believes that both sides should carry forward traditional friendship and support and trust each other. The two countries should deepen the alignment of development strategies, expand pragmatic cooperation in areas such as innovation, green development, ocean, and pharmaceuticals, leverage Macau’s unique bridging role, and make good use of mechanisms like the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries to achieve higher-level mutual benefit and win-win results. People-to-people and cultural exchanges in fields such as culture, education, tourism, and scientific research should be promoted.
Xi Jinping emphasized that as the international situation becomes increasingly turbulent and entangled, China and Europe should strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, and deepen cooperation. He hopes that Portugal will work together with China to adhere to the positioning of the China-Europe partnership and promote sustained, stable, and healthy development of China-Europe relations.
Xi also said that the world is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, with humanity once again standing at a crossroads in history. China is willing to closely collaborate with Portugal in multilateral arenas, jointly practice genuine multilateralism, uphold the authority of the United Nations, safeguard the free trade system, and promote the building of a more just and reasonable global governance system.
Montenegro stressed that Portugal is firmly committed to deepening friendly cooperation with China, and looks forward to enhancing political mutual trust, strengthening economic and trade ties, increasing two-way investment, and deepening cooperation in energy, finance, healthcare, water resources, and other fields with China, to promote the continued development of bilateral relations.
He stated that China plays an extremely important role in international affairs and is willing to jointly safeguard multilateralism. China is Europe’s irreplaceable partner, and Portugal is willing to play an active role in promoting the healthy and stable development of Europe-China relations.