It is helpful for China and Portuguese-speaking countries to seek further economic and trade cooperation, which would solidify friendly cooperative relations between the two sides, said Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming on Saturday.

Chen made the remarks on the conference for professionals in finance, a sideline event of the third Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries held on November 13-14 in Macao.

In his speech, Chen pointed out that further development of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides would help expand economic scale of the countries and achieve mutual benefits and win-win results.

To achieve the goal, Chen proposed four concrete suggestions, including solidifying trade investment cooperation, deepening high and new technology cooperation, expanding cooperation in green energy, and strengthening cooperation in finance.

Setting up cooperation fund, promoting trade financing and advancing trade settlement in local currencies were also mentioned by Chen as ways of strengthening financial cooperation.

While attending the opening ceremony of the forum, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also announced that China will launch a series of measures between 2010 and 2013 to help boost the development of less-developed Portuguese-speaking countries.

Wen said financial institutions from the Chinese mainland and Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) will set up a US$1-billion development fund for cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, in a bid to push forward the financial cooperation between the two sides.

Under the main theme "Diversified Cooperation, Harmonious Development," various activities will be held during the conference period, including the ministerial conference" and the conference for professionals in finance.

Sponsored by China's Ministry of Commerce and hosted by the government of the Macao SAR, the forum was created in Macao in 2003, with the joint participation of seven Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste.

For the first three quarters of 2010, trade volume between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries amounted to US$68.2 billion, a significant increase of 57 percent over the same period of last year, figures from China's central government indicated.

 (Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2010)