China will establish closer contact and coordination with
Portugal's parliament to help the two nations to discuss issues of
common concern, top legislator Wu Bangguo told visiting Portuguese
Prime Minister Jose Socrates.
Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body, said the NPC would
boost cooperation with the Portuguese parliament in a bid to inject
new vitality into bilateral ties.
Wu said good political relations between the two countries had
boosted bilateral exchanges and cooperation in trade, cultural,
educational, scientific and technological fields.
China values ties with Portugal, Wu said, expressing his hope
that China-Portugal relations could score bigger achievements based
on the current bilateral cooperation.
Socrates spoke positively of China's social economic
development, calling China as "a good partner."
Portugal would consolidate the mutual trust with China and
intensify the connections between the two parliaments, Socrates
said.
As Premier Wen Jiabao's guest, Socrates arrived in Beijing on
Tuesday. Besides Beijing, Socrates will visit Shanghai and Macau
special administrative regions.
It is Socrates' first visit to China since he took office as
prime minister in 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)
