BEIJING - President Xi Jinping said Friday that China is ready to work with Portugal to strengthen the synergy between their development strategies, promote cooperation in such fields as energy, finance and infrastructure construction, and explore third-party market cooperation.

In a phone conversation with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Xi also welcomed Portugal to actively participate in the Initiative on Partnership for Africa's Development.

Xi pointed out that the world is in a special historical period, with all countries facing such common challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery and climate change, which particularly demands solidarity and cooperation.

China and Portugal are both ancient civilizations, and they should step up communication and coordination and join hands to tackle those common challenges, he said.

China, he noted, has provided more than 900 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 100 countries, especially developing countries, and will strive to provide 2 billion doses for the world this year.

China will continue to support Portugal in its fight against the pandemic, and promote the building of a community of common health for mankind, Xi said.

Xi stressed that realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the dream of all Chinese people, which is also connected with the beautiful dreams of people around the world.

China, he noted, has always worked to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development, and preserve international order.

He said China is willing to work with all peace-loving countries, including Portugal, to promote respect for the system and path independently chosen by every country, advocate coexistence and mutual learning among different civilizations, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

China will host the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games in a simple, safe and wonderful fashion, he said, adding that Portuguese athletes are welcome to China to participate in the games, show the charm of winter sports and pass on the Olympic spirit.

He also expressed the hope that Portugal will play a positive role in promoting the development of relations between China and the European Union.

For his part, Rebelo de Sousa said that in recent years, Portugal-China relations have maintained a sound momentum of development, with bilateral economic cooperation growing deeper and deeper.

The Portuguese side, he added, welcomes Chinese enterprises to do business and conduct cooperation in Portugal.

Portugal and China share much common language and common interest on such issues as safeguarding multilateralism and promoting world peace and security, he noted.

He added that his country is ready to work with China to support the role of the United Nations and strengthen communication and coordination within the Group of 20 and other multilateral frameworks.

Portugal, he said, appreciates China's sustained important role in promoting international cooperation against COVID-19 and stands ready to strengthen cooperation with China.

As China has an important influence on regional hotspot issues like Afghanistan, Portugal supports China in playing a bigger role, he added.