A seminar for teachers in Portugal of the Chinese language, which was put on by the Confucius Institute at the University of Lisbon, drew about 50 people, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency says the two-day seminar gave instruction in the teaching of Chinese.

The report quotes a Chinese diplomat in Lisbon, Zhou Gaoyu, as saying the Portuguese government attaches great importance to the teaching of Chinese.

Portugal now has five full branches of the Confucius Institute, along with one lesser facility run by Chinese cultural agency, Xinhua says.