Portugal has submitted a proposal to China for an agreement on the mutual recognition of academic qualifications, which Beijing has agreed to consider, the Minister for Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, told Lusa News Agency today.
“After many years of deadlock on this issue, and following numerous exchanges between the Portuguese delegation and the delegation from the People’s Republic of China, Portugal has put forward a draft agreement which China has agreed to consider,” the minister said in Beijing.
Alexandre considered that the acceptance of the Portuguese proposal paves the way for the resumption of negotiations on an issue he described as being “of the utmost importance” for academic cooperation between the two countries.
He also revealed that a further technical meeting between Portuguese and Chinese representatives is scheduled for tomorrow, with a view to continuing negotiations on the recognition of degrees and diplomas.
“Without this agreement, we will always face difficulties in ensuring the mobility of teaching staff and students, which is essential for this type of collaboration,” he emphasised.
The agreement under discussion aims to establish equivalence between Portuguese bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and the Chinese degrees of Xueshi, Shuoshi and Boshi, respectively, according to information previously released by the ministry of education, science and innovation (MECI).
Fernando Alexandre explained that the delegation from the Chinese ministry of education took part in the negotiations at the 10th Portugal-China Joint Commission on Science and Technology, held today in Beijing, precisely because of the complementary nature of higher education and scientific research.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), the two countries have identified five priority areas for scientific and technological cooperation: the ocean and the blue economy; energy, climate, batteries and hydrogen; agriculture, the bioeconomy and food; health, healthy ageing and medical technologies; and the conservation of cultural heritage through science.
Portugal and China have also committed to developing, from 2027 onwards, a Joint Action Programme for Science and Innovation, which may include bilateral funding mechanisms, researcher mobility, collaboration between scientific institutions and companies, and the creation of networks of joint laboratories.
The reactivation of the Joint Commission was agreed in June, during a previous visit by Fernando Alexandre to China.
The current visit by the minister and the secretary of state for Science and Innovation, Helena Canhão, is taking place in Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai, with visits to Chinese universities, research centres and technology companies.
Source material: LUSA