Vice President Zeng Qinghong called for "greater progress" to be made in relations between China and Portugal in a meeting with visiting Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates in Beijing on Thursday.

 

Zeng said China and Portugal share solid political foundation and that various achievements have been made in fields of trade, culture, education and judicial affairs.

 

Socrates said Portugal regards relations with China as a priority in its foreign policy.

 

Portugal has made efforts to expand bilateral trade and to foster China's ties with the European Union, Socrates said.

 

Portugal will assume the rotating presidency of the EU in the second half of 2007.

 

Socrates arrived in Beijing Tuesday and is scheduled to visit Shanghai and Macao Special Administrative Region. It is his first visit to China since he took office in 2005.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)