Looking beyond Macao
Alternative energy combined with advanced technology, in addition to customary food and beverage, are the chief areas in which Moreira de Lemos feels Portugal can be of service to China.
He speaks of the delicate balancing act of building a new image of his country as a technological powerhouse that can compete with Germany and the US, while at the same time maintaining its rustic agricultural reputation of quality producers of food and wine."Last year, we exported 600 million liters of wine worldwide. It's important that the Chinese are made aware that our nation is thinking big. Quantity as well as quality is important in China," he said.
Despite this Portuguese exports to China in the first eight months of last year totaled just 149 million Euros ($193.7 million), in contrast to China's 1.03 billion Euros worth exports to Portugal, and Moreira de Lemos spoke of Portugal's the "middle-sized" companies needing the most assistance getting in here. He said his consulate provides support systems consisting of consulting, translation services, and helps with business strategy to anyone looking to break into the China market.
"Portuguese companies need to come together underneath one brand of 'Portugal,' rather than compete with each other," he said. "It is my wish to see a Portuguese section in the supermarket; we all have to fight together to get this."
Time gone by
Historical references play a significant part in Moreira de Lemos' day-to-day dealings with local officials, and he enjoys maintaining that unlike other Western colonial powers, his country has preserved a peaceful existence with China since the establishment of the Macao trading settlement in the 16th century.
He also likes to remind one that unlike the 1842 ceding of Hong Kong to the British, the Portuguese in Macao were permitted by the Chinese to form a Senate to handle various issues concerning their social and economic affairs, while always remaining under strict supervision of the Chinese authority.
"For me Macao has symbolic value as it represents the 450 years of affable diplomatic relations with China," he told the Global Times. "I always encourage Chinese to study their history and try not lump Portugal in with the countries responsible for the national humiliations associated with 19th century concessions. We never saw China as a territory for conquest."
Despite the handover in 1999, Portuguese, along with Chinese, remain the official languages of Macao. As a result, the island is still seen as the major gateway to the East for Portuguese companies. For Moreira de Lemos, however, this is something that needs changing as he sees the future in the Yangtze rather than the Pearl River Delta.
"Part of my being here is to help Portugal slightly move on from Macao and get people into the mind-set that more business needs to be brought up to Shanghai," he told the Global Times.
