Global Development, Shared Security
Bernardo Mendia
Secretary General at Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce & Industry - CCILC | President of the Board of Directors at PHKCCI
By occasion of the 2nd Conference of Global Economic Development and Security Forum, which took place October 29-31, in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, under "Boao Forum for Asia" patronage, I’ve had the honor to share my own views.
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It is a great pleasure and honor to participate in this meeting and join so many like-minded friends who work persistently to promote the economic EU-China partnership.
Over the last two decades, the EU and China, two of the world's leading economies, have engaged in mutually beneficial cooperation full of benefits for businesses, job creation, technological development and social prosperity. The volume of EU-China bilateral trade reached US$847.3 billion in 2022, with each side being the other's second largest trading partner, which is the equivalent to 2.3 billion per day worth of exchanges between the two territories. The volume of bilateral investment between China and the EU in 2022 exceeded US$230 billion, benefiting people on both sides and contributing greatly to global economic prosperity.
The numbers speak for themselves: globalization and global economic exchanges are the driving force behind a less poor and socially stable world, while creating additional opportunities for its citizens to fulfil their life.
Portugal actively contributed to the results of 2022, with the volume of Portugal-China bilateral trade approaching 10 billion dollars and the stock of bilateral investment exceeding these values, trends that will remain unchanged in 2023.
Furthermore, in 2023, the Vice-President of China, Mr. Han Zheng, visited Portugal, and our Chamber has received more than 30 Chinese official delegations in the last 6 months.
Portugal, on the other hand, was represented in China at the highest level, with several missions by members of the National Parliament and also through visits from members of the Government of Portugal to China. I have personally been to China six times this year alone.
Looking to the future, the EU and China have great potential for cooperation. The two territories share common interests in promoting economic growth and financial stability, responding to the energy crisis that is increasingly shrouded in greater uncertainty, containing inflation and pursuing ecological and digital transitions.
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Now is the time for each one of us to take on the responsibility of being the bridge builders, such as by setting up the mechanisms to regularly meet up, by lobbying, by debunking false claims, by pushing the agenda of the benefits of economic exchanges, by pushing the signing of documents like the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment as well as sectoral country-to-country MoUs, by visiting each other's countries as regularly as possible, by promoting meetings like this one, by encouraging dialogue where both sides can confront points of view, and by linking up each side delegations and governments visiting the other.
Understanding and confidence must be pursued at all levels and at any cost. Particularly, count with Portugal, a country that has proved to know how to conduct the bilateral relationship through dialogue, common sense, neutrality and diplomacy, which we have done together and directly with China for more than 500 years.
With this vow of illusion and hope, I thank the Boao Forum and the Changsha city leaders for their commitment to work together in the making of a better future to our youth, our nations and the world.
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Local newspaper and TV news that echoed the remarks: