Portuguese Minister of the Sea Ana Paula Vitorino has said representatives of China and Portugal will sign this week an agreement to co-operate in maritime economic ventures, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese state-run news agency quotes Ms Vitorino as saying: “We want to extend our co-operation in the area of research and innovation, but also for business partnerships.”

Ms Vitorino is leading a Portuguese mission to China which includes representatives of 39 Portuguese companies.

Members of the mission and representatives of 86 Chinese companies met at a seminar on maritime co-operation earlier this week, Xinhua says.