(José Honrado (L), councilman of Alenquer, and Lan Tao, director of General Office of Longhua District, shake hands after signing the memorandum of friendly exchange and cooperation between Shenzhe's Longhua District and Portugal's Alenquer at the Macao Economic and Trade Representative Office in Portugal on Feb. 29. File photos)

Longhua District signed a friendly exchange relationship with Alenquer, Portugal to strengthen international exchanges, economic, and trade cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries at a ceremony held at the Macao Economic and Trade Representative Office in Portugal on Feb. 29.

At present, international friendship and exchange have become an important window for cities to open up, an important platform for foreign cooperation, and a carrier for promoting common development. 

Longhua District actively participated in Belt and Road construction and expanded its global circle of friends by organizing delegations to visit Macao and Portugal to carry out exchanges in the fields of digital economy, scientific and technological innovation, and industrial development. 

(A snapshot of China (Longhua•Shenzhen) - Portugal (Lisbon) Economic and Trade Cooperation and Exchange Conference that took place in Portugal on Feb. 29.)

It has organized enterprises to participate in world-class fairs and hosted the Brazil-Portugal GBA innovation demo day. Through these activities, Longhua has deepened exchanges and cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, and carried out exchanges in economics, trade, science and technology, and fashion, and has achieved substantial results. 

Alenquer is an important transport hub in Portugal, and is a 30-minute drive from the center of Lisbon. It has similar geographic advantages as Longhua, and is one of the famous regions in the Lisboa wine region. The region has a long winemaking history, as well as having resources and potential in modern fashion, intelligent technologies, and sustainability. Its qualities highly match Longhua in terms of cultural characteristic towns and modern industrial system.

Alenquer is the first friendly exchange region Shenzhen has signed with after the COVID-19 pandemic. Longhua District will continue to deepen economic and trade cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries based on this program and contribute to the city’s high-quality development, as well as to the Belt and Road Initiative construction with a high level of opening up to the outside world.