Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, arrived in Lisbon on Monday on his way to a Latin American trip.

His March 19-April 5 visits will take him to Mexico, Venezuela, Surinam, Peru and Samoa, a South Pacific island nation.

In Portugal, Li will meet with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates. He will also tour a number of cultural and historical sites in Lisbon, including the 1998 World Expo site.

With China's biggest city Shanghai bracing for the 2010 World Expo, the two countries have signed a memo on sharing the expertise that Lisbon gained when hosting the 1998 World Expo.

China and Portugal officially forged an all-round strategic partnership in 2005 as a result of an exchange of visits by the leaders of the two countries.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2007)