Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and his wife Carla Neto Montenegro pose for a photograph in front of the Ruins of Saint Paul's during his official visit in Macao on September 10, 2025. Photo: VCG

Wrapping up his trip to Beijing, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, who is on his first official visit to China, arrived in Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Wednesday and met with the SAR's Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai. Chinese experts hailed the active role that Macao plays in developing China-Portugal relations, noting that with a unique cultural identity that blends Chinese and Western civilizations, Macao serves as a model for how different civilizations can coexist peacefully and harmoniously in today's world.

In his meeting with Montenegro, Sam noted that the Prime Minister's decision to include Macao as a stop on his first official visit to China fully demonstrates the goodwill and importance Portuguese government attached to Macao. This visit is conducive to further deepening Macao-Portugal exchanges and enhancing the SAR's role as a "precise liaison" between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. 

Sam expressed confidence that, with the support of authorities in Beijing and Lisbon, Macao and Portugal "will continue to deepen mutual trust and cooperation, enhance friendly exchanges, benefit their peoples further, and elevate bilateral exchanges and cooperation to a new level," according to a press release issued by Macao's Government Information Bureau, Macaubusiness.com reported.

The Macao Chief Executive emphasized that the SAR government "has always attached great importance to protecting and respecting the rights, customs and cultural traditions of Portuguese residents in Macao, proactively promoting the teaching and dissemination of the Portuguese language," according to the report.

Montenegro commended the preservation of Macao's cultural diversity, including Portuguese culture, and expressed hope to further deepen cooperation. He also said he looks forward to welcoming Sam in Portugal for an official visit at an appropriate time.

Both sides agreed to schedule the Macao-Portugal Joint Committee, which was last held in 2019, for February 2026 in Macao, per the report.

Montenegro paid a visit to the Portuguese School of Macao on Wednesday morning, which is seen as quite a rare move by a Portuguese prime minister. He toured campus facilities such as classrooms, the playground, and the library. 

Montenegro said that Portugal will strengthen cooperation with Macao in economic, social and cultural areas in the future. He noted that the Portuguese School, in addition to promoting Portuguese language education, provides training and certification for hundreds of young people each year, enabling them to achieve their personal development goals and advance to higher levels in their academic journey, local media reported.

During meetings in Beijing, leaders of both countries highly praised their collaboration in settling the Macao issue and the unique role it plays in the development of China-Portugal relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the two sides to give full play to Macao's unique role as a bridge and make good use of mechanisms like the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes at a higher level, Xinhua reported. 

Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said Montenegro's visit to Macao on his first official visit reflects Portugal's affirmation of the successful resolution of the Macao issue and sends a signal that Portugal hopes to maintain and develop its relations with China from both historical and contemporary perspectives.

The continued stability and development in Macao demonstrate the foresight and effectiveness of both sides in addressing the Macao issue, Cui told the Global Times on Wednesday. He noted that while Macao has returned to China, Portugal retains a traditional economic and social influence there, and both sides should strengthen cooperation to consolidate and expand this connection.

Having developed a unique cultural identity that blends Chinese and Western civilizations, Macao also serves as a model for how different civilizations can coexist peacefully and harmoniously in today's world, Cui said.