President Jorge Sampaio of the Portuguese Republic wound up his seven-day visit to China, and departed China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Monday evening.

Macao is the last stop of his official visit to China from Jan.11 to 17 at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Before his departure, Sampaio and his wife, Maria Rita Sampaio, hosted a reception for local Portuguese community at the residence of the Portuguese Consul-General in Macao. Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Edmund Ho Hau Wah attended the banquet.

Earlier in the morning, Sampaio and his delegation visited a Portuguese school, the Portuguese Consulate-General in Macao and the Oriental Portuguese Institute of the Orient.

During his China trip, Sampaio visited Beijing, Shanghai and Macao, accompanied by Economic Activities and Labor Minister Alvaro Barreto, Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities Minister Antonio Monteiro and a delegation of more than 100 business people.

The visit, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between China and Portugal and the fifth anniversary of Macao's return, reflected the good political ties between the two countries, said Sampaio in Macao.

Sampaio visited China in 1997 and was present at the Macao handover ceremony in 1999.

Source: Xinhua