The 7th China Europe Water Platform High Level Dialogue Conference will open tomorrow in the northern Portuguese city of Guimarães, Lusa reports.

The Portuguese news agency quotes a written statement issued by the city government as saying the conference is an opportunity to open up the Chinese water supply market to Portuguese companies.

The local government says China faces “huge challenges” regarding river pollution, preserving its ecosystems and coping with extreme weather.

On the programme of the three-day conference is a seminar to be attended by representatives of 35 Chinese companies and 25 Portuguese companies in the water business, the report adds.

Chinese Minister of Water Resources E Jingping will attend a ministerial meeting on Friday, and later inspect work on rehabilitating the River Douro and visit Coimbra University to learn about the Portuguese flood warning system, Lusa says.