Longhua District and Portugal’s Covilhã established friendly exchange and cooperation ties during a signing ceremony held at the Longhua International Cooperation Center (LICC) yesterday.

A delegation led by Vitor Manuel Pinheiro Pereira, mayor of Covilhã, along with representatives from both the Longhua District Government and local companies, attended the event.

During a meeting prior to the signing ceremony, Xu Zhibin, executive deputy head of Longhua District, expressed a desire to strengthen cooperation with Covilhã in economic and trade exchanges and cultural innovation.

Vitor Manuel Pinheiro Pereira (L), mayor of Covilhã, shakes hands with Xu Zhibin, executive deputy head of Longhua District, following the signing of an agreement to promote friendly exchange and cooperation between the two regions. Wang Jingli

Pereira emphasized the potential for collaboration between Covilhã and Longhua enterprises in technological innovation and other fields. He also extended an invitation to companies from Longhua and Shenzhen to visit Covilhã.

João Alberto Moreira Casteleiro Alves, a representative from Portuguese tech company Latitudde, proposed future knowledge sharing and services exchanges with Longhua.

Nuno Ezequiel Mendes Pais, from Portugal’s International Business and Innovation Center, highlighted similarities between their work and LICC’s mission — supporting companies and fostering cross-border cooperation. He hopes to deepen collaboration with LICC to better understand Longhua firms’ interests in expanding to Portugal.

Covilhã is a historic mountain town in central Portugal. Known as the “city of wool” for its long tradition of textile production, it was a key center of Portugal’s industrial revolution.

Longhua District is one of Shenzhen’s industrial powerhouses. LICC is dedicated to deepening exchanges and practical cooperation between Shenzhen and cities worldwide in various fields such as the economy, trade, technology, education, and culture.