Over 100 academics and other authorities on Chinese traditional medicine from China, Hungary, Portugal, Spain and elsewhere attended the First Sino-Portuguese International Congress on Chinese Medicine, held at the University of Coimbra in central Portugal, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency says two Portuguese universities, the University of Coimbra and the University of Minho, and two Chinese universities, Southwestern Medical University and Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, jointly put on the three-day event.

The report quotes University of Coimbra Vice-rector João Nuno Calvão da Silva as saying those attending exchanged ideas and discussed ways of cooperating.

Mr Calvão da Silva said he hoped Portuguese health professionals would learn more about Chinese traditional medicine and discuss with practitioners of Chinese traditional medicine how to develop it.

The managers of over 10 percent of public hospitals in Portugal hope to use acupuncture in treating patients, Xinhua says.