The Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) hosted two Spring Festival banquets for the media at Macau Tower yesterday, during which it held exchanges with officials and representatives of Macau-based Chinese-, Portuguese- and English-language media outlets.
The Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat Ji Xianzheng, addressed the banquets – a luncheon for the Portuguese- and English-language media, and a dinner for the Chinese-language media.
In his speech, Ji Xianzheng reviewed the work carried out in 2025. He noted that the Permanent Secretariat has been committed to implementing the tasks defined in the Action Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation (2024-2027), signed at the 6th Ministerial Conference, with all work progressing steadily. Throughout the past year, the Permanent Secretariat received over 100 delegations at its headquarters in Macau, which has become an essential meeting point for economic and trade delegations from the Forum’s participating parties, Ji said.
In the field of promoting economic and trade cooperation, the Permanent Secretariat participated in several relevant economic and trade activities in Macau and mainland China. It conducted official visits to Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, and promoted various pragmatic cooperation projects between the provinces and municipalities of mainland China and Portuguese-speaking countries. In the area of cultural and humanistic exchange, the Secretariat organised five colloquia on various themes and held the 17th China-Portuguese-Speaking Countries Cultural Week, which for the first time included the Chinese mainland, with activities that enlivened Macau, Beijing, and Zhongshan, and were well received, Ji said.
On behalf of the Permanent Secretariat, Ji took the opportunity to thank the media in Macau, praising their valuable contribution to deepening public knowledge about the Forum and the Service Platform for Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, as well as their contributions to fostering cooperation and friendship between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
For this year, Ji noted that the Permanent Secretariat will maintain last year’s pace of work and continue to work on the further implementation of the Action Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation. He noted that this year the Permanent Secretariat intends to hold five colloquia, continue exchanges and mutual visits with the Chinese mainland Portuguese-speaking countries, and hold the Cultural Week once again in Macau and the Chinese mainland, deepening comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Ji concluded his speech delivered in Portuguese by expressing his wish to continue counting on the support and attention of the media in Macau.
Forum Macao – the entity’s short name – was set up by China and Portuguese-speaking countries in 2003. It has 10 members – China and the world’s nine Portuguese-speaking countries: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Portugal, Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Forum Macao, which holds a ministerial-level summit every three years, is overseen by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) in Beijing and assisted by the local government, represents about one-fifth of the global population.
Forum Macao Secretary-General Ji Xianzheng (seventh from right, front) poses with representatives of Macau’s Portuguese- and English media and officials of the Forum during yesterday’s Spring Festival luncheon at Macau Tower. – Photo courtesy of Forum Macao
