Over 40 officials and businesspeople from nine Portuguese-speaking countries and Macao attended an unprecedented two-phase workshop held in Beijing and Lisbon to learn about the Chinese Belt and Road initiative, Jornal Puxin reports.

The Portuguese Chinese-language newspaper says Bank of China arranged the workshop, holding the first phase in Beijing from 27 to 30 November, and opening the second phase in Lisbon yesterday.

The report says the purpose of the workshop is to inform those attending about the social and economic development of China, and the Belt and Road scheme.

It quotes a Bank of China executive based in Lisbon, Xiao Qi, as saying the novelty of the workshop shows how important his bank considers the lusophone countries to be.

Bank of China is willing to do business with everybody in the Portuguese-speaking world to advance the Belt and Road scheme, Jornal Puxin quotes Mr Xiao as saying.