Participants highlighted opportunities and win-win cooperation at the sixth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), also known as Forum Macao, which opened on Monday.
Over 1,000 guests from the Chinese mainland and the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), and nine Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) like Brazil and Equatorial Guinea, attended the event.
The conference announced 20 measures to promote economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, covering trade and investment, industrial cooperation, development cooperation, human resources, medical and health care, and the construction of China-Portugal cooperation platforms.
Meanwhile, a guidance document on trade and economic cooperation in 2024-2027 was signed by the participants.
"I believe that cooperation with China, both in trade and in investment, will bring great social and economic development to the two countries. Currently, we have a very close relationship, and relevant policies will surely bring more opportunities," said Jose Mario Antunes, chief operating officer at the Shanghai office of the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of Sao Paulo State, Brazil.
"What we like to see in this conference is to have the opportunity to share together with China, to bring our products from Equatorial Guinea to China, and to have cooperation, win-win, between the two countries. This type of opportunity is very important for us, and it helps small countries like Equatorial Guinea to sail out of our continent and out of our countries," said Fernando Hermes Vegas Moiche, director-general of MLA Export-Equatorial Guinea.
The conference also clarified the key areas of economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in the next three years and reinforced Macao's role as a commercial and trade service platform.
"For us, we see a good opportunity. Macao is a good platform for Portuguese-speaking countries," said Jorge Valente, chairman of the Sino-Luso Industry and Culture Exchange Promotion Association (Macao).
"Now, this is a new opportunity to broach new areas for cooperation that are interesting and prioritize the countries in renewable energy, digital economies, blue economies, and also other challenges such as climate change, and food security as well," said Danilo Lemos Henriques, deputy secretary-general of Forum Macao.
This year, the forum also highlighted developing partnerships between small and medium-sized enterprises from member countries. In the past, the opportunities born out of the forum had been limited to large-scale investment projects involving high-level government negotiations, while this year the ministerial meetings will be followed by an entrepreneurs’ conference.
"By having these enterprises involved, not only are we helping the development of these countries, we are also helping the flow of trade, of creativity, of technology, and so many other particular aspects that these small and medium enterprises that represent in many countries more than 90 percent of the industrial fabric, or economic fabric, that they will be part of the forum. So, adding density to the significance of the forum that will go much beyond states and much beyond inter-governmental cooperation," said Jose Luis De Sales Marques, former president of the Institute of European Studies of Macao.
Forum Macao was founded in October 2003, hosted by Chinese Ministry of Commerce, and undertaken by the Macao SAR government.
Since the establishment of the forum, five ministerial conferences and a special ministerial conference have been held to promote intergovernmental cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in various fields.
Forum Macao guests highlight opportunities, win-win cooperation
