Trade between Lisbon and Beijing increased by 10.6% in May, compared to the previous month, with Portugal registering growth in imports and a decrease in exports to China, as disclosed on Tuesday.

The total value of trade reached $578 million (€510 million). Of these, $426 million (€376 million) relate to imports (+26.3%) and $151 million (€133 million) to exports (-18.1%), according to official data published on the Forum Macau portal, based on statistics from the Chinese Customs Service.

Trade between January and May between Lisbon and Beijing amounted to $2.4 billion (€2.1 billion), down 7.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.

In these five months of the year, Portugal imported 9.2% less Chinese products and exported to China 5.5% less compared to the same period in 2019.

In total, from January to May, Lusophone countries exported goods worth $37 billion (€32.6 billion) to China.

This is more than double the amount recorded for the import of Chinese products.

China established the Macau Special Administrative Region as a platform for economic and trade cooperation with the Portuguese-language countries in 2003, the year in which it created the Macau Forum.

This Forum has a permanent secretariat, meets at the ministerial level every three years and includes, in addition to the secretary-general, Xu Yingzhen, and three deputy secretary-generals, eight delegates from the Portuguese-speaking countries (Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome e Principe and East Timor).

Source: Macau business