Representatives of the University of Coimbra in Portugal and Beijing Foreign Studies University are due to sign tomorrow an agreement to set up a centre for joint research into links between China and the Portuguese-speaking world, the University of Coimbra says.

A written statement posted on the University of Coimbra website says the research centre will focus on projects in the fields of the humanities and the law that are of common interest.

The statement says the joint research centre will be the first in Europe to involve Beijing Foreign Studies University.

The University of Coimbra says the number of Chinese students enrolled there has grown as its exchanges with Chinese institutions have grown.

The university has had a Confucius Institute since 2016, and last year it opened a Sino-Lusophone Academy, and, in co-operation with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a Chinese Studies Centre.