South China Morning Post
January 10, 2005
Portugal looking to resurrect economic ties
President Sampaio is visiting with delegates of 112 large firms
Freda Wan in Macau

Long-neglected economic ties between China and Portugal are expected to gain momentum this week during a visit by Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio.

Mr Sampaio is leading a business delegation representing 112 large Portuguese firms that will be looking to improve economic relations, which would increase China's political influence in resource-rich former Portuguese colonies such as Angola and Mozambique, as well as Brazil.

"The inclusion of this business delegation shows the president is paying more attention to building up economic relations with China, which is now one of the most important economies in the world," said Manuel Antonio Geraldes, Portugal's trade commissioner in Macau and Hong Kong.

"Political relations between Portugal and China are good," an aide to Mr Sampaio told the Portuguese news agency Lusa. "There have been no controversies, and in Macau things are running very well."

To date, the largest Portuguese investments on the mainland have focused on former colony Macau, where Portuguese companies own two banks and hold significant shares in telecommunications, electricity and aviation firms.

Excluding Macau, trade between the mainland and Portugal amounted to US$ 786 million from January to November last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce.

This figure amounts to less than 0.5 per cent of EU-Sino trade in 2004 and is the lowest among the 15 founding European Union members.

Observers hoped that mainland entrepreneurs would take advantage of the investment opportunities in Portugal, which offers some of the lowest operating costs in western Europe.

"There is relatively great potential for economic relations to grow," Mr Geraldes said.

Macau's smooth handover to mainland rule and its booming economy have paved the way for closer ties between Beijing and Lisbon.

In October 2003, China, Portugal and six other Portuguese-speaking countries signed an economic co-operation agreement in Macau, setting up a permanent office in the former enclave to oversee bilateral trade.

During his week-long visit, Mr Sampaio will meet President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao . He will also meet National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo and former president Jiang Zemin , who welcomed the Portuguese president on his first visit to Beijing in 1998.

Mr Sampaio is travelling with Foreign Minister Antonio Monteiro Hunter and Economics Minister Alvaro Barreto.

Apart from Beijing, Mr Sampaio will also visit Shanghai, where the two countries will sign a co-operation agreement covering Macau and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. A Portuguese consulate-general is to open in Shanghai this year.

Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio toured Macau yesterday and said the territory's remarkable economic growth is a reflection of the hard work of its people.
"The opportunity that has been opened up by this region of Macau is very important, as the economy has not only recovered but also developed with an enormous speed," Sampaio said.
In Portugal's former colony, Sampaio said Macau's remarkable economic growth since the handover reveals the Macau Special Administrative Region government under the leadership of Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah, as well as its people, were doing well since the handover in December 1999.
Sampaio said he was glad the Portuguese community also helped show the Chinese concept of "one country, two systems" works.
"It has been a practical demonstration to the world that the creation of the principle is very significant, which allows the solution of Hong Kong and Macau's handover," Sampaio said. "I hope it can be extended elsewhere."
The president said he brought a big delegation to China as an indication that both countries will continue political consultation and search for further cooperation in the international arena.
More than 100 businessmen with Sampaio's delegation attended a trade cooperation forum at Macau Tower.
Sampaio said he believed that although the framework of cooperation was set, the private sector needed to find ways of completing mergers and creating partnership.
"I hope their study of opportunities and contacts with their Chinese counterparts will contribute to our development of economic ties," Sampaio said.

Yeah, I read it on the newspapers as well.. Apparently he thanked the POrtuguese Community of Macao for their great job in promoting Portugal in that part of the world.
(There are 100,000 people holding a POrtuguese Passport in Macao, of which some 3,000 are of Portuguese descent)

Yes, our wonderful President returns for a visit. Well done!