China and seven Portuguese-speaking countries adopted a new "Action Plan for Economic and Trade Cooperation" in Macao Sunday afternoon, striving for increasing the bilateral trade volume to US$45-50 billion by 2009.

The Action Plan, adopted at the 2nd Ministerial Conference of Forum on Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries being held here, stresses that economic and trade relations are the core and basis of the exchanges among member countries of the Forum.

The Action Plan says there is a great potential in bilateral trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially the latter's export to China.

All member countries of the Forum, the Action Plan says, realizing the importance of investment in their economic and trade relations, agree to take active measures to double bilateral investment in the next three years.

To this end, the Plan agrees to establish an investment cooperation group under the coordination of the Permanent secretariat of the Forum.

The 12-article document covers inter-government cooperation, trade, investment and cooperation in the fields of enterprises, agriculture and fishery, infrastructure construction, natural resources, human resources, finance, tourism, logistics, public health, science and technology, broadcasting and culture.

The Plan also spoke highly of Macao's role as a platform for cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

The Action Plan decides to hold the Forum's 3rd Ministerial Conference in China's Macao Special Administrative Region in 2009.

The ongoing 2nd Conference is attended by ministers in charge of economic and trade affairs from China and seven Portuguese-speaking countries, namely, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2006)