The Macao Polytechnic Institute said on Monday it will hold online a conference to mark 60 years of the teaching of the Portuguese language at institutions of higher education in mainland China.

The institute announced in writing that it welcomes scholars of the Portuguese and Chinese languages, translators of one into the other, teachers of Portuguese to tertiary students, and anybody else interested to register for the conference, to be held from November 23 to December 3.

It says that among the speakers will be authorities on their subjects at universities in mainland China, Portugal, Brazil and the United States, translators of literature and editors of textbooks.

The conference will discuss the teaching of Portuguese in China, textbooks, the translation of literature, and student exchanges, the institute says.

The event will help Macao function as a teaching centre that turns out people bilingual in Chinese and Portuguese, according to the Macao Polytechnic Institute announcement.