Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates met with Wang Gang, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on Monday and the two pledged efforts to expand exchange and cooperation in various fields between the two countries.

Socrates congratulated China on its successful hosting of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, which he said has manifested China's outstanding organization ability and displayed its achievement in sports and other fields.

Portugal and China, as each other's all-round strategic partner, should further enhance their pragmatic cooperation, said the prime minister. He expressed the wishes that China would make Portugal an important platform for cooperation with Europe and Africa.

Socrates urged both sides to step up efforts to explore potentials in trade cooperation, saying Portugal encourages more local firms to invest in China and Chinese investment is welcomed in Portugal.

During their meeting, Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, spoke highly of the stable development of China-Portugal relations and their ever-expanding cooperation in trade and cultural exchange.

Wang, who is also vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said China appreciates Portugal's adherence to the one-China policy, its opposition to "Taiwan independence" and the fact that it does not support "Tibet independence" in any form.

The next year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-Portugal diplomatic relations, and China would like to take the opportunity to deepen trade and cultural cooperation with Portugal and promote their ties to a new height, Wang said.

Wang said China attaches great importance to its relations with Europe and it hopes Portugal, an important member of the European Union (EU) and China's reliable friend and partner in the EU, would continue to play an important role in pushing forward the China-EU relations.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2008)