Diplomatic envoy of Portugal introduces his home country. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

A trade cooperation promotion meeting between Nantong in Jiangsu province, Macao, and Portuguese-speaking countries was convened in Nantong on June 4.

Diplomatic envoys of Portuguese-speaking countries to China, including Mozambique, Portugal, and Timor-Leste, introduced their respective countries, while those of Angola and Brazil made such an introduction through video.

Chinese enterprises such as Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Co and China Far East Group also made a brief introduction to seek pragmatic cooperation with these countries in the fields of textiles, construction, petrochemical engineering, manufacturing, and agriculture.

Guests pose for a photo during the event. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Ambassador of Timor-Leste to China Maubere Lorosae da Silva Horta visited China 30 years ago. "I can say that I've witnessed the achievements made by China in opening-up, especially how to lift more people out of poverty, which is worth learning for Timor-Leste," noted the ambassador.

Timor-Leste boasts a long coastline and it can collaborate with Nantong in fishery, agriculture, mineral products, and oil and gas exploitation, he added.

Maubere Lorosae da Silva Horta also expressed hope that Nantong will offer more scholarships and study opportunities to young people in Timor-Leste.

In recent years, Nantong has actively forged strong cooperative relations with Portuguese-speaking countries in infrastructure construction, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Nantong and São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, the city's Rudong county and Boa Vista, Cape Verde, have become sister-cities. Nantong has constructed a number of projects in Angola, Brazil, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, while the city has been home to 71 projects with an actual use of foreign investment from Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries valued at $410 million.

Last year, Nantong's trade with Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries totaled 15.9 billion yuan ($2.19 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11.3 percent.