By Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING (Reuters) – Portugal’s Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will hold talks in Beijing on Tuesday, as EU member states fret over the prospect of a trade war with both Washington and Beijing.
This week’s visit would be the first to China by a high-level Portuguese government official in over five years.
The United States is the main destination for Portuguese exports outside of the EU, while Portugal is the only country in western Europe still signed on to Beijing’s flagship overseas infrastructure plan, the Belt and Road Initiative.
U.S. President Donald Trump has made numerous tariff threats since returning to office on January 20. Tensions with the EU in particular escalated this month as both sides threatened retaliatory counter tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said it would be the first strategic in-person dialogue at the foreign ministers’ level, and that China was ready to support the development of bilateral relations, as well as China-EU relations.
Last year, Portugal abstained from an EU vote to impose tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles, and has welcomed Chinese investments from the industry.
China’s CALB, one of the world’s largest EV battery makers, said last month it would invest 2 billion euros ($2.17 billion) in a gigafactory in Portugal which is expected to start production in 2028.
Ricardo Arroja, president of investment promotion agency AICEP, who will accompany Rangel, said Tuesday’s meeting highlighted Portugal’s role as a reliable partner for Chinese investment globally.
Chinese foreign direct investment into Portugal reached a cumulative value of over 12 billion euros by the end of last year, according to AICEP, making it the Iberian nation’s fourth-largest source of FDI.
Despite strong investment ties, issues of contention between the two countries include a continued ban on Chinese equipment in Portugal’s 5G network, which the new centre-right government has upheld.
($1 = 0.9221 euros)
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
