PHOTO: XINHUA

By WANG Xiaoxia

China vows to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) to safeguard world peace, inject new impetus into the economic recovery and development, as well as jointly fighting against COVID-19.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made the remarks on April 10, while attending the opening ceremony of a special ministerial conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and PSCs, also known as Forum Macao.

Established in Macao in 2003, the forum is aimed at enhancing economic and trade exchanges between China and PSCs, where the Macao Special Administrative Region plays the role of the platform linking China and PSCs, and promoting the common development of the Chinese mainland, PSCs and Macao. Fruitful achievements have been made under the cooperation framework.

Trade between China and PSCs has exceeded 100 billion USD for five consecutive years and reached 200 billion USD last year, which fully demonstrated the resilience and potential of cooperation, Li noted.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, by the end of 2021, China's total investment in PSCs had exceeded 86 billion USD, and a number of major projects were implemented, including the mobile network modernization project with Mozambique and the Special Marine Economic Zone in Cape Verde's Sao Vicente island.

Calling for further enhancing trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, Li said China is willing to improve collaboration in advancing infrastructure connectivity, industrial capacity, energy conservation, and environmental protection with PSCs.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has made joint efforts and shared experience with PSCs, and has provided more than 170 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to PSCs to date.

China is willing to increase cooperation with PSCs in vaccines, medication and health, and set up a communication center on epidemic prevention in China's Macao, said the premier.

Government delegates from China and eight PSCs, including Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea -Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, and Timor-Leste, attended the meeting.