Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Portugal on Tuesday for a two-day visit to boost economic ties, despite concern in some EU capitals over China's growing influence across the continent.
"Relations between China and Portugal are entering their best period... We must develop existing projects and step up our commercial exchanges," Xi said at a meeting with counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
His two-day stay will include the signing of cooperation agreements, one of which will bring the southwestern port of Sines into what China calls the "new Silk Road".
The initiative offers loans to build railways, roads, and ports across Asia, Europe and Africa.
"Portugal is an important hub in the land and maritime silk routes," Xi said. De Sousa added Sines was "the symbol of a partnership which we want to continue to build."
"In Portugal, we are not anxious about the origin of foreign investment," Costa said, asking Europe to eschew "the path of protectionism."
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