A Chinese official has suggested that Macao serve as a place where radio and television programmes in the Chinese and Portuguese languages can be exchanged, the Chinese National Radio and TV Administration says.

The administration issued a written statement saying its deputy director, Fan Weiping, made the suggestion when he and Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR Deputy Director Xue Xiaofeng met recently.

Mr Fan also suggested that Macao become a place where programmes in Portuguese are produced and re-voiced, dubbed or subtitled.

As this year marks the 20th anniversary of Macao’s handover, he urged China to exploit fully the close links between Macao and the Portuguese-speaking world in the field of broadcasting.

Government bodies, with the help of broadcasters in Macao and the neighbouring mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, will guide such exploitation, the Chinese National Radio and TV Administration quotes Mr Fan as saying.