On the first day of Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's official visit to China, Xi Jinping made brief remarks open to the media at the beginning of their meeting, which took place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The President of the People's Republic of China began by saying it was "a pleasure" to meet Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.

"Welcome to China. I remember that in 2018 I made a state visit to Portugal, which left a beautiful and profound impression on me," he said, taking the opportunity to ask Montenegro to convey "sincere greetings" to the Portuguese head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, according to the simultaneous translation into Portuguese of his remarks.

The Chinese president emphasised that China and Portugal "are both countries with a deep history, and both peoples possess idiosyncrasies, openness, inclusion, progress, and autonomy," arguing that "Portugal plays an important and unique role on the international stage."

Xi Jinping also highlighted "the important role" played by three former Portuguese prime ministers in international and regional affairs.

"The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the former President of the European Commission, Durão Barroso. "I have good relations with them," he said.

In his brief statement, the Chinese president stated that "Portugal is a good friend of China" and considered that both countries had "adequately resolved the Macau issue through friendly negotiations."

"Portugal was also the first Western European country to sign cooperation agreements with China under the 'Belt and Road' initiative and the first Eurozone country to issue bonds" in Chinese currency, he said.

The Portuguese Prime Minister began a two-day official visit to China today, during which he will meet with President Xi Jinping and visit Macau, before continuing on to Japan, where he will stay until Friday, with stops in Tokyo and Osaka.

The President of the People's Republic of China paid a state visit to Portugal in 2018, and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa returned the following year.