China's top legislator Zhao Leji held talks with Speaker of the Portuguese Parliament Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco in Beijing on Wednesday.

Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said that Chinese President Xi Jinping maintained close exchanges with Portuguese President Antonio Jose Seguro and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, which provided strategic guidance for the development of bilateral ties.

China stands ready to work together with Portugal to implement the important common understanding between the leaders of the two countries, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote steady and sustained progress of the China-Portugal comprehensive strategic partnership, said Zhao.

He pointed out that China is willing to make joint efforts with Portugal to uphold respect for each other's core interests and major concerns, strengthen alignment of each other's development strategies, expand cooperation in fields such as new energy and digital economy, deepen cultural exchange, and practice true multilateralism.

Zhao expressed the hope that Portugal will continue to play a constructive role in promoting a healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.

Zhao said the NPC is ready to expand the sharing of experiences in legislation and oversight with the Portuguese Parliament to provide legal guarantees for bilateral practical cooperation.

Introducing the relevant situation of China's Ecological and Environmental Code, Zhao noted that the two sides can strengthen cooperation in promoting domestic legislation and formulation of international rules on ecological and environmental protection.

For his part, Aguiar-Branco said that deepening the Portugal-China comprehensive strategic partnership is a consensus among various political parties in Portugal.

Amid uncertainties in the international situation, Portugal hopes that the strategic nature of relations with China can be enhanced, said Aguiar-Branco, adding that his country is ready to jointly uphold multilateralism, boost cooperation in economy, trade, culture and other fields with China, and work for healthy development of EU-China ties.

Aguiar-Branco said the Portuguese Parliament is ready to enhance friendly exchanges with the NPC and contribute to closer practical cooperation between the two countries.