Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa in Beijing, October 8, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa here on Saturday, calling for more Chinese investment in Portugal.

During the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi told Costa both countries need to deepen cooperation in investment and explore more markets.

China is willing to encourage investment in Portugal and expand to areas including finance, insurance, health care and infrastructure, Xi said.

He also called for maritime cooperation, saying that China supports Portugal's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative and encourages both countries to cooperate in maritime research and port logistics.

Costa, who is paying an official visit to China from Saturday to Wednesday, said he would like to promote all-round cooperation between Portugal and China through the visit, pushing forward cooperation under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative and in areas of energy, finance, electricity, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacture, culture and tourism.

On the political front, Xi spoke highly of the bilateral ties in the past 37 years since the two forged diplomatic ties.

He said China and Portugal need to maintain the momentum of the exchange of high-level visits and cooperation in various fields to consolidate political mutual trust, and continue mutual understanding and support on both sides' core interests and major concerns.

He also called for cooperation in people-to-people exchanges, culture and education.

On the China-EU ties, Xi said China firmly supports the process of European integration, expressing the hope that Portugal could exert a greater influence on China-EU economic and trade relations.

Earlier on Saturday, China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang met with Costa.

Zhang hailed the friendly exchanges between the Chinese National People's Congress and the Portuguese parliament, calling on the two legislative bodies to enhance cooperation and offer better policy and legal environment for bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

Costa said Portugal hopes to upgrade cooperation with China to a higher level.

Costa is visiting at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Besides Beijing, he will also visit Macao to attend the fifth Ministerial

Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries next Tuesday. Costa is slated to hold talks with Li on Sunday.