António Leitão Amaro, Portugal's Minister of the Presidency, tells CGTN Europe’s Li Jianhua that in times of global tension, Portugal can bridge the gap between China and the EU.
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00:00I would say that the bilateral relationship is pretty good.
00:05The foreign investment and trade are growing.
00:08Then on social, at social and cultural level, the rise in tourism.
00:14I would say now Chinese people know Portugal better than ever at political level.
00:20We are two different countries with their own governments with different views on many aspects,
00:26but high-level interactions have been happening both at economic, social and political level.
00:35The relationship is now a good one.
00:39As the two, China and the EU mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties,
00:44what role do you think Portugal plays in shaping China-EU relations?
00:50I would say very important. Not only because Portugal is a country in Europe
00:58where there is a very important economic presence now and interaction with China.
01:04We have been showing for, I would say, centuries a very significant role as a builder of bridges.
01:13I would say in a moment of tension, this capacity of Portugal to build bridges
01:20and to have bridges already built with China will be very important to bring together
01:27two of the largest economic, political blocs in the world nowadays.
01:33Let's talk about bilateral investments.
01:35We know China is a growing economic partner of Portugal and the country's direct investment in Portugal,
01:41reached an historic high last year. It was about US$4.3 billion,
01:47making Portugal one of the largest recipients of Chinese investment, especially investing in Europe.
01:53What do you think led to the growth and in what sectors specifically?
01:57Indeed. This wave of foreign investment of China in Portugal started about 12 years ago.
02:06I was also in government at that time. And it was a combination of domestic factors.
02:12Portugal was going through an economic and financial crisis.
02:16So different sectors were changing ends and put up, in many cases, into public tenders
02:23and public competition to attract foreign investment. And Chinese companies came at that time.
02:29So that's a combination of that. And on the other hand, the fact that Portugal has several strategic sectors
02:37that are very interesting for countries that are looking for building green transition, digital transition.
02:47And so those sectors where it started were mostly energy related, financial services, insurance sector.
02:55It started from there. But then there's been growing and expanding to other sectors, construction, transportation,
03:05both bus, electric vehicles, now batteries related investments.
03:15And during Portuguese foreign minister Hangzhou's visit to Beijing in March, both parties highlighted some of the areas
03:23where both countries can probably have deeper cooperation, including trade economy and green transition
03:29that you talked a lot just now. So what specific opportunities exist for both countries in green technologies?
03:36And how is your government facilitating green transition?
03:40So one message important is that Portugal is, in the world, one of the countries that produces more electricity
03:48out of renewable sources. We started that green revolution about two decades ago.
03:56So we are very strong on solar. We are very strong on wind.
03:59I would like also to bring attention to our access to the sea, to the Atlantic Ocean.
04:04We have one very large maritime port in Sinj. It's not the only one through which we can come, pass and go to Europe.
04:16This conjunction of well-educated people, renewable resources that we have at home, plus geographic location,
04:26are a combination that is very interesting to invest in.
04:30So both countries are quite strong in green transition.
04:34CALB, that is an EV battery maker from China, invested about US$2.2 billion in a new EV battery factory in Portugal in February.
04:43It is set to launch in 2028.
04:46Portugal has secured many Chinese investments and is still in the China proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
04:53Do you face increasing criticism from your EU partners, given that the EU is adopting this de-risking approach towards China?
05:02Well, I would say that that's, of course, a delicate issue.
05:06We know where we are. We are in Europe. We cherish the European values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights.
05:15We have a very strong Atlantic relationship with the United States.
05:19But we also have very important historic and present economic, political and social relations with China, with African countries, with Brazil.
05:32We don't want to be closer to one against the other.
05:35So that's the reason why Portugal abstained from voting on additional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
05:42So we benefit from open trade. We benefit as world a lot from globalization.
05:49We know that we have groups of people within our societies that suffered in those economic sectors that were left behind,
05:58that lost jobs and lost economic opportunities against foreign competitors. We know that.
06:04Of course, there are moments where tensions escalate so much and then we have to team up with our closest allies.
06:12Still, we think this is a moment where we can still save the world from unstoppable drive of global tension and both economic and military tension.
06:28Yeah, as you said, we're witnessing more tensions now. Donald Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on many countries across the world.
06:38Reciprocal tariffs, in his words, including the US traditional allies like the European Union and Portugal, of course.
06:45How do you think that could impact Portugal's economy, given that the United States is still the largest single export market for a country?
06:53So the impact in terms of the national Portuguese economy is very asymmetric because we have some areas that are very exposed to trade, to exports to the United States.
07:06But I would say that beyond that sectoral negative impact that we will have, that we will sell less to the US if the tariffs rise,
07:19we must be ready if other economic partners keep that drive to use our own defence. Again, going back. National interest should be in the top of our priorities, always.
07:32And do you think that could potentially change Europe's de-risking approach towards China?
07:38Well, I would say it depends on the behaviour of all actors. We must understand the fears that all governments have and be able to dialogue more and to see that we can, we have gained, see the growth in China over the past 30 years.
07:59China is a good example of that, of how global trade, global order, international order, international law can be beneficial for everyone.
08:08With or without the trade wars, we should, and I think we as Portugal, as a pivotal player in the European scene, we will work towards increasing relationship between Europe and China.
08:22So I would say de-risking, but also de-escalate tensions. Try to reduce both.