On March 23, CCILC received a delegation from Foreign Affairs Office of Anhui Provincial People’s Government, China, both sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement.
Mr. Sérgio Martins Alves, Secretary-General of CCILC, expressed his sincere welcome on behalf of the chamber for the arrival of the delegation and proposed that Portugal attaches great importance to the “Belt and Road Initiative” initiated by China. The under planning project of building the railway system from the Portuguese Sines Port to Madrid, Spain is a clear proof of Portuguese government’s support of Silk Road trade. Portugal has also joined Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank based in Beijing, showing a promising future for more project cooperation between the two countries. CCILC will provide fully support for the development of Chinese businesses in Portugal and Portuguese-Chinese communications. Mr. Zhou Lixin, Director of Foreign Affairs Office of the Anhui Provincial People’s Government, thanked CCILC for the warm reception and expressed their willingness to join hands with CCILC to build a bridge between Portuguese and Chinese companies to implement projects in various fields such as producing, manufacturing and high-tech industries.
Located in the east-central part of China, Anhui is a province famous of light industry in China with a population over 70 million. It has abundant resources especially mineral resources. Anhui, Shanghai and Zhejiang formed the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, which is one of the six largest city cluster in the world. Typical scenic spots like Huangshan Mountain and Jiuhua Mountain have also made Anhui famous for tourism. In 2015, Anhui Province officially entered the fast-developing stage of middle-to-upper income. The delegation brought the project of Anhui Hefei “Qiaomengyuan”, located in the Hefei Hi-tech Zone, which is a state-level high-tech industrial development zone, aiming to provide support for both overseas Chinese and foreigners to start their own businesses，up to now there’re already 25,000 enterprises . The delegation hoped that the trip will promote mutual understanding and establish contacts with Portugal. It will not only follow the “open up and go out” policy, but also embrace overseas talents and enterprises.
On May 25-27, the 2018 World Manufacturing Conference, hosted by the Global SME Alliance, UN industrial development organization (UNDIO), the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Anhui Government, will be held in Hefei, Anhui Province, with the former President of Germany Wulff served as the chairman. The delegation sent an invitation to CCILC and welcomed various Portuguese companies to pay a visit.