China–Portugal relations (, ), can be traced to 1514 during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

of China. Relations between the modern political entities of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and the

Portuguese Republic Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it shares the longes ...

officially began on 2 February 1979. China and Portugal established the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2005. Both nations maintain friendly relations, which is due to three main reasons - the first being the Portuguese handover of Macau in 1999, the second being the Portuguese prominence in the

Lusophone The Portuguese-speaking world, also known as the Lusophone world () or the Lusophony (''Lusofonia''), comprises the countries and territories in which the Portuguese language is an official, administrative, cultural, or secondary language. This ...

, which includes nations China wishes to promote relations with, and third being the extensive history of Portuguese presence in Asia.

Economic relations

Trade between the two countries have increased since the resolution of the longstanding issue of Macau's future and the economic reforms of

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

in the early 1980s. In 2002, trade between the two countries was valued at $380 million. China's exports to Portugal are textile goods, garments, shoes, plastics, acoustic equipment, steel materials, ceramic goods and lighting equipment. China is Portugal's ninth-largest trading partner. Portugal's exports to China are electric condensers and accessory parts, primary plastics, paper, medicinal, textile goods and wine. Portugal participated in Shanghai's

Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...

to boost bilateral trade further.

Cultural relations

During the celebration of the Year of the Rooster, the Chinese

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...

that fell on 28 January 2017, a huge rooster, the symbol of Portugal, created by famous Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, was ferried to China from

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

to congratulate the Chinese with New Year greetings.

History

Contemporary era

Following World War II, the United Nations expected its member states to relinquish any colonies. Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Salazar sought to resist UN pressure to relinquish Macau. In 1951, the Salazar regime sought to re-characterize Macau not as a colony but as an

overseas province Overseas province () was a designation used by Portugal for its overseas possessions, located outside Europe. History In the early the 19th century, Portuguese overseas territories were referred to as "overseas dominions", but administrative re ...

of Portugal, which it viewed as part of a plural-continental but nonetheless unified and indivisible Portuguese state. After the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

, Portugal began its process of

decolonization Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...

. Over the next several years, Portugal made two offers to return Macau, both of which were rejected by the Chinese government. In 1979, following the formal establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries reached a secret agreement to characterise Macau as a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration". Relations between Portugal and China began to improve as talks in relation to Macau's future were conducted, and a final agreement was reached, with Macau being returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999.China and Portugal

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, 12 October 2003 After Macau was returned to China, its ties with Portugal have largely been based on cultural and economic exchanges. China and Portugal both participated in the multi-lateral group Forum Macao, which China formed in 2003 in order to increase economic and commercial cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.

Resident diplomatic missions

* China has an embassy in

. * Portugal has an embassy in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and consulates-general in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. File:Embaixada chinesa, Lisboa 02.jpg, Embassy of China in Lisbon

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros

Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Portugal
{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Portugal relations

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Bilateral relations of Portugal