The Fourth International Forum of Portuguese Language Teaching in China was held in Beijing over the weekend with a view to giving further impetus to the study of the language by Chinese, the People’s Daily reports.

The Chinese Comunist Party newspaper says the the two-day conference was arranged jointly by the Communication University of China and the Macao Polytechnic Institute.

The report says over 70 acadmics and authorities in the field of teaching Portuguese attended. They came from Portugal, Brazil, Mainland China and Macao.

Communication University of China President Hu Zhengrong was quoted as saying the conference was an occasion for academics to communicate, to exchange opinions and accounts of their experiences, and to share results of their research.

The teaching of Portuguese in China is developing rapidly as the relationships between China and Portuguese-speaking countries grow closer, so that nearly 5,000 students and over 200 teachers now concentrate on Portuguese studies in China, the People’s Daily says.