Portugal signs agreement with China on Belt and Road Initiative
- President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa set to agree to include the port of Sines in Chinese investment plans
- Memorandum signed amid European scepticism about massive infrastructure strategy
Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed Portugal to formally join Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” during his visit to Lisbon, as the southern European nation signed a memorandum of understanding with China on the massive infrastructure plan.
The memorandum was signed on Wednesday after Xi held talks with Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
On Tuesday, Xi told Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa that China wanted to deepen political and economic ties between the two nations, with Portugal having welcomed Chinese investment, and pushed it to agree to a memorandum of understanding on his transcontinental infrastructure building and financing strategy.
“We should take the signing of an intergovernment MOU on the [initiative] as an opportunity to fully enhance cooperation and connectivity under the umbrella of the [belt and road],” Xi said.
De Sousa said Portugal “supports” the initiative and would like to become a hub on land and sea for it in Europe, according to Xinhua.