Recently, the Portuguese representative of the Forum said in an interview with reporters that the Belt and Road Initiative is conducive to promoting cooperation between China and Portugal in the fields of Marine governance, Marine ecology, Marine renewable energy and Marine culture, and at the same time provides new opportunities for Portugal's infrastructure and economic investment.

The Belt and Road Initiative is an important global project proposed by China, which will surely bring more cooperation opportunities between China and Portugal. China and Portugal established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2005, and since then the political, economic and trade relations between the two countries have grown significantly. Currently, China is Portugal's ninth largest trading partner and fourth largest investor, with 11.2 billion euros of Chinese investment in Portugal as of December 2022, according to the Bank of Portugal. China has a long history of investment in Portugal, taking shares in a number of Portuguese state-owned and private enterprises, involving energy, banking, insurance, health and other fields.

Portugal hopes to expand and deepen economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries and participate in the joint projects of the Belt and Road Initiative, especially the New Maritime Silk Road. The ocean is a strategic asset for Portugal, and there are numerous opportunities for cooperation with China in the blue economy sector. In fact, Portugal was the first EU country to establish a Blue partnership with China, which the two countries signed in 2018.

The partnership is based on the convergence of the two countries' development strategies, namely China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and Portugal's National Maritime Strategy, whose main objective is to promote cooperation between governments and businesses, with a focus on scientific and technological areas such as ocean governance, Marine ecology, Marine renewable energy and Marine culture. A wide range of activities have been carried out in cooperation with China, including aquaculture, mineral resources and ports, and the main areas of cooperation include: scientific research and innovation in blue biotechnology or Marine bioprospecting, coastal and Marine tourism, Marine renewable energy, and Marine infrastructure. In addition, there is the possibility of establishing multilateral partnerships and working together with Portuguese-speaking countries. Such cooperation contributes to economic development, the sustainable use of Marine resources and the promotion of interregional cooperation and development. Editor/Xu Shengpeng