Macau, China, Oct. 20, 2025 (Lusa) - The China-Portuguese Language Countries Economic and Trade Exhibition (C-PLPEX) kicks off on Wednesday in Macau, with 320 Portuguese-speaking exhibitors and, in a "sporting touch", the display of the iconic shirt worn by Pelé in the 1962 World Cup.
At the second edition of C-PLPEX, Deep Robotics, a Chinese innovation company founded in 2017, will present two robot dogs. These are "very mature products" that can, for example, be sent to assess the situation in a fire scenario, a representative of BPS Global Group, Deep Robotics' agent in Australia, Hong Kong and Macau, explained to journalists.
With its participation in C-PLPEX, he pointed out, the company has "Macau as a priority", but doors may open to other latitudes.
"We need to know if Portuguese Language Countries are interested and if the parent company has any plans to expand and to which Portuguese Language Countries," he added during a visit by journalists to the fair, which runs until Saturday.
Deep Robotics is one of the nearly 500 exhibitors from China and Portuguese-speaking countries present at this year's C-PLPEX. There are 320 exhibitors from Portuguese-speaking countries alone, representing "a 23% increase over the first edition," the president of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) announced today at a press conference.
"One third are from Brazil, one third from Portugal and the rest are from [other] Portuguese Language Countries," added Che Weng Keong.
According to Che, the stands are focused on "priority areas of Sino-Portuguese cooperation", such as "cross-border e-commerce, new energies, agricultural industry, food and beverages, professional services and the blue economy".
In parallel, the China-Portuguese Language Countries International Agricultural Expo will be held for the first time this year. Brazil, according to the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) official, weighed heavily in the decision to launch this new exhibition.
"Brazil is a very large country, linked to food production and agricultural production, and with that in mind, we decided to hold this exhibition. In inland China, this [agricultural] area is very advanced and can have a good relationship with Portuguese-speaking countries," the IPIM president added.
Alan Ho, leader of the China-Portuguese Language Countries Economic and Trade Exhibition (C-PLPEX), also noted that bringing "many people" from the Portuguese-speaking world and inland China to Macao is "crucial to promoting the Macao platform."
China established the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) as a platform for strengthening economic and trade cooperation with Portuguese Language Countries in 2003 and, in the same year, created the Macao Forum.
In addition to China, the organisation includes the nine Portuguese Language Countries: Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste and, since 2022, Equatorial Guinea.
In a "sporting and cultural touch" to this fair, Alan Ho continued, this year "the yellow number 10 jersey worn by Pelé in 1962" during the World Cup will be exhibited "for the first time in Macao".
The second edition of C-PLPEX will run concurrently with the 30th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF) and the Macao Franchise Exhibition 2025. Together, the three events occupy an area of nearly 30,000 square metres and bring together more than 1,100 exhibitors.
The Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has invited Guangzhou, the capital of the neighbouring province of Guangdong, as a partner city of MIF and will organise more than 50 economic and trade promotion sessions, including regional cooperation forums and conferences.
"Several renowned companies have already confirmed commercial partnerships to be formalised during the three events, with the signing of important contracts (...) aimed at accelerating the development of sectors such as “big health” and technology," noted the president of IPIM, citing the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca as an example.
It was also announced that the Portuguese companies Prio Energy and Porto de Sines will be represented in Macao.
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