China is willing to enhance cooperation with Portugal on smart power grids, and will support the Portugal government in new energy development, said Chinese Vice President Han Zheng amid his visit in Portugal.

The vice president made the remarks on Tuesday during a visit to a research and development center of Redes Energeticas Nacionais (REN), the Portuguese national energy grid administrator in Lisbon, accompanied by Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Ana Fontoura Gouveia and CEO of REN Rodrigo Costa.

Han Zheng listened to a list of the achievements the center has made in new energy development, and paid a visit to a laboratory, before holding talks with the staff.

The R&D center is the result of a collaboration between the State Grid Corporation of China and the REN. It is a strong alliance with complementary advantages, as well as a good example of win-win cooperation between the two countries, said Han Zheng.

A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development published in March praised Portugal's environmental performance on providing 26 recommendations to help it "strengthen policy coherence to drive a green economic recovery" including improving waste recovery.

Gouveia said China and Portugal have maintained stable ties, with productive results achieved in various fields, especially the economic realms. The R&D center is of great significance to the country's efforts in energy transition. Portugal is willing to deepen pragmatic cooperation with China, especially in energy and renovation.

Rodrigo said the achievements of the center has benefited not only China and Portugal, but the world as well. It has already become an important platform for international energy studies and communication.

The center will continue to forge a good example of China-Portugal pragmatic cooperation, he said.

The R&D center of the REN was officially established by the State Grid Corporation of China and the REN in 2013. It mainly focused on developing power system simulation and analysis, renewable energy management, as well as research in energy market. It has filled the gap in the large-scale grid simulation experiment for Portugal.