On the evening of 7 May, President Xi Jinping spoke with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on the phone.

Xi reaffirmed his appreciation to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for his letter of solidarity to the Chinese people over the COVID-19 challenge. China and Portugal have worked in concert to fight the disease. China firmly supports Portugal's battle against COVID-19, and will continue to do its best to help Portugal and facilitate its procurement and shipment of medical supplies from China. It is hoped that when the situation improves, the two countries will deepen cooperation in all areas, achieve more progress in the Belt and Road projects, and explore third-party cooperation in public health and other fields. These efforts will help advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Xi added that he cherishes the friendship with his Portuguese counterpart and stands ready to keep in touch.

Xi pointed out that human history is one of wrestling with and prevailing over various disasters. All governments have a bounden duty to protect the health and well-being of their people and to promote economic and social development. Only with unity of purpose, solidarity and coordination, can countries overcome once-in-a-century challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and move toward building a human community with a shared future. The UN and WHO must have our strong support if they are to effectively coordinate global anti-epidemic cooperation. In the meantime, efforts must be made to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination and safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains. China, Portugal and other European countries must work together to advance these goals.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed his country's admiration for the strong resolve of the Chinese people in the fight against the virus. COVID-19 is a common enemy of mankind, and the international community needs to uphold multilateralism and work together to defeat the virus. He thanked China for its valuable support and assistance, which have greatly helped Portugal's response to the disease. Portugal and China have a future-oriented friendship and, through the joint efforts against COVID-19, friendship and partnership between the two sides will be greatly deepened. He looked forward to meeting President Xi soon when the disease is over, and jointly advancing friendship and cooperation between their countries.