Prime Minister Luís Montenegro commenced a two-day state visit to China on Tuesday, September 9.
Speaking to journalists after meeting with the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Portuguese Head of State highlighted the “relationship” between the two nations as “having a lot of history, with past contexts of closer ties and also moments of greater tension,” yet he assured that it “projects into the future as a starting point for interaction and cooperation” on various levels.
“Culturally, in international politics, as well as economically and commercially,” he outlined, noting that “today, Portugal benefits from various investments originating in China that have been pivotal for Portugal’s economic transformation and development.”
“Our aim with this visit [to China] is also to open doors for more Portuguese companies to find the Chinese market a destination for their products and, as a result, increase our export share to this geography, thereby contributing to a more robust economy at a time that is favorable for Portugal both in attracting investment and in capturing market share,” he affirmed.
Montenegro further emphasized that “China is an economic powerhouse, a political power. It is a nation with a significant role. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and in this context, our call was for its influential capacities on the international scene to translate, as is also Xi Jinping’s desire, into more peace, more prosperity, more justice, and greater access to essentials.”
“Despite the many differences we have with some of China’s perspectives, the truth is that the People’s Republic of China and its President have espoused values like multilateralism and respect for International Law. We believe this also means respect for Human Rights and for all citizens’ access to levels of achievement that align with the values we advocate in Portugal,” the Portuguese prime minister stated, acknowledging China’s “immense” capacity for influence.
For this reason, from Beijing, he advocated that “we should count on this influence to have positive repercussions in various global conflict theatres.”
“In Ukraine, in particular, the proximity between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation is well-known, so the potential to influence Russia is a possibility that needs to be amplified, developed, and realized. I was simply frank, loyal, and direct in my appeal for this capability to be harnessed and bring practical results under the well-known relationship between China and Russia,” he assured, believing that “the appeal, coming from a friendly country, a European Union country, a country—as President Xi Jinping emphasized—that shares values and paths, will not fall on deaf ears.”
It should be noted that Luís Montenegro began an official two-day visit to China today, during which he will visit Macau, before continuing to Japan, where he will stay until Friday, visiting Tokyo and Osaka.
