Linking up with Portuguese-speaking countries

will offer aid and preferential loans totaling 4 billion yuan ($600 million) to Portuguesespeaking countries in Asia and Africa over the next three years, Premier Li Keqiang said while addressing the fifth ministerial conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation Between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in the Macao Special Administrative Region on Tuesday. Economic Daily commented on Wednesday:

Since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1979, China and Portugal have maintained a vibrant, mature, and sustainable relationship and managed to forge a comprehensive strategic partnership.

And thanks to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the seven Portuguese-speaking countries, which was launched in 2003, both sides have enjoyed a notable leap in their trade partnership over the past 13 years. Their total trade volume jumped from around $5.6 billion the year before the first forum to at least $132.6 billion in 2014.

Such a large increase in bilateral trade has

made China the largest trade partner and export destination of the Portuguese-speaking nations, which in turn, have become a popular choice for many Chinese investments.

In general, China and the Portuguese-speaking community have expanded, diversified, and deepened their cooperation under a variety of mechanisms, in areas ranging from infrastructure and telecommunications to transportation and people-to-people exchanges.

The Beijing-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is expected to inject fresh momentum into their capacity cooperation and help speed up the industrialization in countries that need it most.