Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes in this port city in northern Portugal Wednesday en route to Brazil. (Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes in Porto, a port city in northern Portugal on Wednesday while en route to Brazil.

Lopes welcomed Hu on behalf of Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio and the Portuguese Government. Lopes spoke highly of China's economic development and its positive impacts on the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, and said the Portuguese Government hopes to strengthen co-operation with China.

The Portuguese prime minister said his government encourages entrepreneurs to invest in China and participate in preparations for the Beijing 2008 Olympiad as well as the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

Lopes told Hu that Sampaio will visit China next January to promote Portugal-China relations.

Lopes reiterated the Portuguesefirm commitment upholds the one-China policy and fully respects the stance and feelings of the Chinese Government and people on the issue of Taiwan.

Hu said China-Portugal relations have entered a new stage of development characterized by frequent top-level visits and increased political trust.

China and Portugal share similar or identical views on many international issues and have had good co-operation at the United Nations and other world organizations, Hu noted.

The Chinese president said he is expecting Sampaio's visit to Beijing early next year. He said China appreciates Portugal's backing of the one-China policy and is committed to China-Portugal relations.

"We are ready to work with the Portuguese side and bring bilateral relations to a higher level," Hu said.

Hu also exchanged views with Lopes over the development of the China-EU strategic partnership.

Hu is scheduled to arrive in the Brazilian capital Brasilia early this morning Beijing time, starting a week-long visit that aims to push bilateral relations to a high level.

Since the two established diplomatic ties 30 years ago, particularly since they forged a "strategic partnership" in the 1990s, co-operation between them has yielded fruitful achievements in many fields.

They include politics, economy and trade, science and technology, culture, and international affairs, experts said.

Sino-Brazilian trade surged by 58.4 per cent to reach US$9.296 billion through September, during which Brazil gained a trade surplus of US$3.89 billion, US$200 million more than all of last year,according to Ministry of Commerce statistics.

The Chinese president's state visit to Brazil, at the invitation of his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is the first leg of his four-nation Latin-American tour that will also bring him to Argentina, Chile and Cuba through November 23. The two presidents are expected to hold talks today.

While visiting Santiago, capital of Chile, Hu is scheduled to attend the 12th Informal Leadership Meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) November 20 and 21, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry sources.

Carlos Tavares, a Brazilian analyst based in Rio de Janeiro, said on Tuesday he believes Hu's visit will provide an opportunity for more bi-lateral co-operation between business leaders.

Tavares said a combination of Chinese capital and labour with Brazilian agricultural land and raw materials represents enormous potential, according to a Xinhua report. Enditem