Xi highlights ties between China, Portugal

President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory message to Antonio Jose Seguro on his assuming the presidency of the Portuguese Republic, saying he would work with Seguro to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

In his message to the new Portuguese president on Monday, Xi noted that China and Portugal share a profound traditional friendship.

Over the 47 years since they established diplomatic relations, the two countries have adhered to mutual respect and mutual support, Xi said.

They used political wisdom to properly resolve the question of Macao, deepened mutually beneficial cooperation in a spirit of partnership, closely coordinated with each other on international affairs, while the bilateral relations have consistently developed in a healthy and steady manner, he added.

Noting that he places great importance on the development of China-Portugal relations, Xi expressed his willingness to work with Seguro to strengthen strategic communication between the two countries, consolidate high-level mutual trust, promote high-quality cooperation, and continuously enrich the content of the comprehensive strategic partnership to deliver more benefits to the people of both countries.

China and Portugal have maintained sound high-level interactions, with bilateral cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and people-to-people exchanges continuing to make progress. China remains Portugal's largest trading partner in Asia and is an important source of its foreign investment.

In 2024, the bilateral trade volume between China and Portugal reached $9.28 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.6 percent.

Seguro was sworn in to office on Monday. He beat his rival Andre Ventura last month in a runoff vote held after weeks of devastating storms that killed at least seven and caused an estimated 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion) in damage.

As war rages in the Middle East and US President Donald Trump pursues his "America First" approach, Seguro called for "not giving up on multilateralism".

"The force of law has been replaced by the power of the strongest," said Seguro.

The 63-year-old succeeds conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was not allowed to run again and left office at 77 after two five-year terms.