Luís Vaz de Camões, a great lyric poet and intellectual of the 16th century, is a significant writer in the spread of the Portuguese language and Portuguese national traditional culture. To commemorate this poet who was hailed as “the father of Portugal”, and to gather together overseas Portuguese, the Portuguese government has designated June 10th as Portugal’s National Day in 1977.

As the only distinguished European poet China has witnessed in the era, Camões has a special connection with China. Here he fell in love, and here he wrote a part of his majestic epic poem, Os Lusiadas (“The Lusiads’), one of the greatest literary pieces in the history of Portuguese literature. Camões became a bridge between these two cultures.

On the night of June 9th, the eve of this grand festival, the reception of the Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities was held in Guangzhou. The attendees include Ana Cordeiro, Consul General of Portugal in Guangzhou, Zhang Shuofu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, Wu Linbo, Deputy Secretary General of Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government, José Pereira Coutinho, Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, Rita Botelho dos Santos, President of the Regional Council for Asia and Oceania of the Portuguese Communities, consul generals of multiple countries in Guangzhou, as well as representatives from other political departments and enterprises both in China and Portugal.

The reception commences with Ana Cordeiro’s address, in which she mentioned that the bilateral relations between China and Portugal are not only renowned for their longevity. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, “the two countries have maintained a relationship of trust, cordiality, and mutual respect, both bilaterally and in the framework of the European Union and the People's Republic of China relations”. The Consul general also said that the Consulate General of the Republic of Portugal in Guangzhou “has been actively working to promote contacts between companies and entrepreneurs from both sides and assist them deepen understandings and further cooperate”. She also referred to their expectations of promoting cooperation initiatives in the academic, scientific, and cultural areas. To achieve this goal, the consulate has held various activities in multiple universities and institutes in South China, including the exhibition “Voltar aos passos que foram dados” to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the Nobel Prize in Literature, José Saramago, the celebration of World Portuguese Language Day, and a Portuguese-speaking cinema festival organized together with the Consulates General of Angola and Brazil. In regard to scientific cooperation, the consulate is analyzing cooperation and exchange initiative between the University of Porto and the Southern University of Science and Technology. Meanwhile, the consulate also has twin cities agreements, namely between Guangzhou and Funchal and between Changsha and Braga under negotiation.

The speech of Zhang Shuofu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress closely follows that of Ana Cordeiro. He said that China-Portugal bilateral relations have maintained sound and steady development since the start of diplomatic ties in 1979. With China being Portugal’s largest trading partner in Asia while Portugal is China’s important partner in Europe, China and Portugal become comprehensive strategic partners. China-Portugal cooperation features many “firsts” and sets a good example for other European countries to follow. The Consulate General of the Republic of Portugal in Guangzhou was established in 2017 and has been playing a very important role in promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation between Portugal and Guangdong ever since. 2022 also witnessed the opening of the China-Portugal National Trade and Investment Cooperation Center in Guangzhou, as the bright prospects and preferential policies of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, especially the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, attracted more and more enterprises from Portugal and Portuguese-speaking countries to invest here in Guangdong. Zhang Shuofu also expressed his appreciation of the efforts made by the Consulate General of the Republic of Portugal in Guangzhou that contribute to the flourishing people-to-people exchanges and collaboration between institutions of higher learning.

In a pleasant and warm atmosphere, the guests present raised their glasses to celebrate the Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities and the long-standing friendship between China and Portugal. The fragrant and chill white wine, the smooth and mellow red wine, as well as the sweet and soft port, accompanied by a variety of authentic Portuguese food gave its guests a taste of the cultural customs of Portugal. This world-renowned wine country and foodie paradise shows the attendees both national and international sides of it.

Portugal was the first European State to establish, from the 16th century onwards, official and continuous diplomatic relations with China. The signing of the Global Strategic Partnership in 2005 has injected new impetus into China-Portugal relations. The recent visit of the Vice-President Han Zheng to Portugal and the visit of the Vice-Governor of Guangdong Province, Lv YyYin, to Lisbon and Porto this week are great embodiments of our strong friendship.

The collaboration between China and Portugal in various industries such as food and beverage, copper, paper, automobile components, ornamental stones, and cork led to fruitful results. In recent years, China and Portugal also benefit from the exchanges and cooperation within fields of the pharmaceutical industry, smart cities, e-commerce, components for artificial intelligence, software service platforms, high-tech, green industries and tourism. The volume of business between these two countries enjoys a stable increase, and the cooperation between has expanded to multiple areas. The overall value of trade between the two countries in 2022 amounted to more than 9 billion USD, and in the first quarter of 2023, exports of Portuguese goods to China mainland increased by 14% compared to the same period in 2022.

A partnership forged with the right approach defies geographical distance. Camões’ trip to China, the Maritime Silk Road that has extended for millennia, and people in all industries that have been dedicated to the collaboration between China and Portugal have all injected energy into the development of their bilateral relations. With the steady development of trade cooperation and deepening exchanges in culture and science between both sides, the supportive relations signifying our mutual trust will undoubtedly continue to benefit peoples in both countries and will become a vivid example of building a community with a shared future for all humanity!

(Outlook New Era)