Portugal PM urges China's Xi to push Russia for Ukraine peace

Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use his country's close relationship with Russia to push for a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine, during a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday.

Montenegro's visit to China is the first by a Portuguese head of government in nearly a decade. It comes a week after Xi hosted a massive military parade in Beijing marking 80 years since Japan's World War Two defeat, flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in what EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called an "autocratic alliance".

"We really count on your contribution and the close relationship that China maintains with the Russian Federation in order for us to build, as fast as possible, a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," Montenegro told his host.

After a multi-day visit to China, Montenegro will head to Japan for a state visit, as Lisbon seeks closer ties with Asia's two largest economies after years of no high-level contact.

Hit hard by Trump administration's tariffs that have slashed Portugal's U.S.-bound exports, Lisbon is now seeking stronger commercial ties with China, even as the European Union accuses the world's second-largest economy of flooding the region with cheap goods and enabling Russia's war economy.

Montenegro also told Xi that Portugal was grateful that investors from the $19 trillion economy had "bet ... on the Portuguese economy during one of the most critical moments for our country - the financial crisis."

The president of Portugal's investment promotion agency, AICEP, is part of the delegation accompanying Montenegro on his visits to China and Japan.

Chinese foreign direct investment into Portugal reached a cumulative value of over 12 billion euros ($14 billion) by the end of 2024, according to AICEP, making it the Iberian nation's fourth-largest source of FDI.

Despite strong investment ties, some tensions remain, including a continued ban on Chinese equipment in Portugal's 5G network, which the new centre-right government has upheld.

Xi said that "China is willing to strengthen strategic communication with Portugal, to guarantee bilateral relations (develop) in the correct direction".