Milk, beef, cheese and fish are some of the “high-quality products from the Azores” that China is interested in, said China's ambassador to Portugal, Zhao Bentang, after a visit to the region, demonstrating his willingness to strengthen cooperation between this country and the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

Zhao Bentang was speaking to journalists after a visit to the Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIPD), where he received - along with an entourage of more than a dozen Chinese businesspeople with companies in Portugal - a briefing from Mário Fortuna on the opportunities, but also the challenges facing various sectors in the Azores.

“The Chamber of Commerce presented a series of sectors in which we can invest, from science to technology, the sea and the export of our agricultural products. So there is potential here for Azorean exports, but also for attracting foreign investment from China to the Azores,” said Artur Lima, vice-president of the Azorean government.

(Source: Açoriano Oriental, on February 26)