Soochow University in eastern China, the City University of Macau and the University of Évora in Portugal have jointly held online a conference on the conservation of Sino-Portuguese cultural heritage, the Macao Daily News reports.

The newspaper says the China-Portugal Joint Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Conservation Science put on the conference on Wednesday under the auspices of Chinese Belt and Road initiative.

The report quotes City University of Macau Pro-rector Ip Kuai Peng, who heads the City University of Macau Institute for Research on Portuguese-speaking Countries, as saying the laboratory can help Macao attract workers qualified to protect and restore the heritage of Macau, so making the economy of the city more diverse.

The gathering was a manifestation of the performance by Macao of its function as a place for exchanges between China and the Portuguese-speaking world, the Macao Daily News quotes Mr Ip as saying.