Portugal’s foreign minister has rejected the idea that his country is developing a problematic reliance on Beijing, as Chinese companies are expected to bid to invest in a strategic port project.
Augusto Santos Silva told the Financial Times that “a myth has been created that Portugal is some kind of a special friend of China in Europe. That makes no sense at all.”
Chinese investment in Portugal began to accelerate after the country faced a severe financial crisis almost a decade ago and Lisbon had to rush through privatisations as part of a bailout deal with the EU. The inflows turned the country into one of Europe’s largest per capita recipients of Chinese investment.