China’s State Council is confident that the country will be able to reach its economic and social development targets for this year, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau are among African countries that will benefit from a total of 1.15 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) in aid announced earlier this week by the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU). It is to help support West Africa until 2020. The new funding nearly doubles the EU’s previous commitment to the region.

China and Russia will assist in the construction of what was referred to as a “transport corridor” connecting Brazil and Chile if the scheme is approved, Russian state-controlled news service Sputnik reported.

Portugal’s exports of goods increased by 1.8 percent year-on-year in 2014, totalling almost 48.2 billion euros (US$53 billion), the country’s statistics bureau announced on Tuesday.

China has this year seen a rise in its exports and investment in countries and regions linked by the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported.

Guinea Bissau’s Prime Minister, Domingos Simões Pereira, pledged the African nation would become a major destination within Africa for foreign investment, reported Portuguese news agency Lusa. The country’s economy is set to grow by 7 percent in 2018, Lusa added, quoting the P.M.

Chinese automaker Chery aims to enhance its production and presence in the Brazilian market this year, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Mozambique’s gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices grew 5.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015, Mozambican newspaper Folha de Maputo reported, quoting official data.

The Chinese economy “is showing some positive changes” as the recent measures by the Government in support of the economy have started to take effect, said the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics.

China’s state-owned food giant COFCO Corp has invested nearly US$5 billion in Brazil since it entered that market in 2014, the company said in a press statement. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang visited the firm’s infrastructure projects in São Paulo last month.

Portugal is “on the radar” of Chinese investors and the relationship between the two countries is in its “best moment so far”, said Filipe Santos Costa, a former Shanghai-based Delegate from AICEP Portugal Global – Trade & Investment Agency, a Portuguese state organisation.

China and Cape Verde aim to enhance their co-operation in cultural exchanges in the coming years, reported Cape Verdean news agency Inforpress.