China and Portugal aim to further harvest fruitful relationship

The harvest is in full swing at the Quinta da Marmeleira estate forty minutes from Portugal's capital Lisbon, the local variety tinta miuda grapes reflecting a rich purple color in the late summer sunshine.

The fruit being piled high in baskets by Chinese and Portuguese employees coincided with Portugal Prime Minister Luis Montenegro's first official state visit to China, the first PM since Antonio Costa visited nine years ago.

The vineyard has been Chinese-owned for more than ten years, the project of Chinese businessman Wu Zhilei and his wife Mrs Wu, or Lao Chao Peng in Cantonese. 

The Macao-based couple fell in love with the wine-producing land and ten years later it's producing award-winning wines.

The estate boasts over 500 years of culture and history, a working symbol of the relationship between China and Portugal two nations that have been trading for around the same amount of time.

Montenegro's visit to China was a positive, friendly one, the fact that Montenegro met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday was a marker of the importance of this relationship to China, not every Prime Minister who visits China meets with the Chinese President.

Both referred to the long history between the two nations, President Xi mentioned the peaceful return of Macao in 1999 through amicable negotiations and praised prominent Portuguese diplomats like Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, previous Prime Minister Antonio Costa, and sent his regards to Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

PM Montenegro says Europe counting on China to help bring lasting peace in Ukraine

The headline that dominated across the Portuguese press on that day was Montenegro saying that he's counting on the Chinese President and China's close relationship with Russia to help bring a lasting peace in Ukraine.

The two nations celebrated 45 years of official diplomatic relations last year and in numbers, the economic relationship between China and Portugal is breaking new records: Bilateral trade amounted to close to 10 billion US dollars last year while Foreign Direct Investment into Portugal by Chinese companies reached over 4.3 billion dollars - a new high.

Speaking to Montenegro the Chinese President said that 'the more turbulent and intertwined the international landscape becomes, the greater the need for China and Europe to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, and deepen cooperation.'

Afterwards Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a welcome ceremony for Luis Montenegro at the Great Hall of the People where they signed bilateral agreements.

The Portuguese delegation expressed its desire to improve and expand this economic relationship, balancing the deficit, and China's Premier made it clear that 'China is ready to import more high-quality agricultural and food products from Portugal,' as reported on China's government website.

Back at the Quinta da Marmeleira estate João Bernardo Trinca Henriques, an enologist who has been working for the Wu family for more than 10 years, says "we had a good year and the right amount of cold, rain, heat, dryness, which means top quality grapes, so yes, I think this could be a vintage year."

Next to him Adrian Barrias, who grew up in Macao and speaks fluent Cantonese, has a conversation about orders with Stanley Chu, a Chinese national who has lived in Portugal for 14 years.

Mrs. Wu, who owns the estate, is continuing the legacy of her late husband Wu Zhiwei who tragically passed away suddenly at just 57 years of age in January 2024.

She is not in Portugal right now as she traveled to Macao as part of the business community who welcomed Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro when he visited the region during his official state visit to China.

"China and Portugal have a long history of connection and cultural exchange. China is currently Portugal's largest trading partner in Asia and I think Prime Minister Luis Montenegro's visit is a very positive thing, he's highly respected here," she tells CGTN.

"His visit will deepen economic ties and trade between the two countries, and there are major business opportunities in the fields of green energy and the digital economy."

Meanwhile the ripened grapes continue to pile high in the town of Carregado, Alenquer, not far from Lisbon at the Quinta da Marmeleira estate, a symbol of Luso-Chinese relations that continue to age well.