Portuguese capital Lisbon is to host six large conferences on China throughout 2016, Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias reported.

The first of these events took place on Monday at Centro Cultural de Belém. The cycle of conferences is being organised by the Chinese Embassy in Lisbon and by the Diplomatic Institute, a body under Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China’s Ambassador to Portugal, Cai Run, hosted Monday’s conference, focused on “Reform, Transformation and Outlook of China’s Economy”. The aim of the conferences is to enhance mutual understanding between the two countries, Mr Cai said.

“[The Chinese Government’s] goal is to transform China into a country with a moderately prosperous society,” said economist Chi Fulin, keynote speaker at Monday’s event, quoted by Diário de Notícias. He was referring to the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan, the nation’s economic blueprint for the 2016-2020 period.

Mr Chi said China’s service sector accounted for over 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2015. He predicted the sector’s GDP share could reach 58 percent by 2020.