China and Portuguese-speaking countries initiated a three-day forum on bilateral economic and trade cooperation Wednesday.

At the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Zhang Wei said that the forum mechanism had made special contributions to economic and trade exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

According to Zhang, the previous forums attracted over 400 business people from mainland China and involved over 1,000 cooperation programs, of which primary cooperation intent had been reached on more than 100.

Apex-Brazil's President Alessandro Teixeira hoped that the forum would play an increasingly important role in boosting economic cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and help extend the bilateral cooperation into cultural and technology fields.

Nearly 200 trade officials, enterprises and scholars would attend the forum, which includes an introductory meeting on the investment environment of participating countries, roundtable sessions for enterprises and speeches on specific topics.

The forum, which has its secretariat in China's Macao, was founded in 2003. It comprises mainland China, Macao, Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola and East Timor.

In 2008, trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries reached 77 billion U.S. dollars, which was five times as much as in 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2009)