The University of Coimbra in central Portugal and the Portugal-China SMEs Chamber of Commerce have agreed to cooperate in matters such as Chinese traditional medicine, an official of the university says.

University of Coimbra Vice-rector for External Relations and Alumni João Nuno Calvão da Silva announced in writing that the agreement calls for the parties to put on joint events, which, he says, may strengthen ties between his university and Portuguese companies on one hand and China on the other.

Mr Calvão da Silva and League of Chinese in Portugal President Chow Y Ping, who heads the Portugal-China SMEs Chamber of Commerce, signed the agreement, according to the vice-rector’s announcement.

The chamber was set up in May, with its head office near the city of Coimbra, to help Portuguese SMEs overcome obstacles to their doing business in China.