Officials of China and seven Portuguese-speaking countries signed the Economic and Trade Cooperation Action Plan 2010-2013 here on Sunday, setting a new goal to expand the two sides' trade volume in the coming years.

The Action Plan was signed after the third Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which opened Saturday.

According to the Action Plan, China and the seven Portuguese- speaking countries that participated in the Forum, including Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste, agreed to adopt active measures, paving the way for the expansion of the two sides' trade volume, with the goal of pushing the figure to 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2013.

Since the creation of the Forum in 2003, the two sides have seen significant growth in trade volume, as the figure reached 77 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, exceeding the goal of 50 billion U.S. dollars, which was set in the previous Forum meeting in 2006, according to the figures from the government of China.

As for the first three quarters of this year, the two sides' trade volume amounted to 68.2 billion U.S. dollars, surging by 57 percent over last year, according to the official figures.

The trade volume between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries has maintained a rapid growth rate this year, which was expected to be the highest on record, said China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming at a press conference after the Forum meeting.

The participants of this year's Forum meeting not only set a new goal for trade ties, but agreed to make concerted efforts to optimize trade structure, he said.

The new Action Plan also calls for the Forum countries to promote free trade within the framework of each of the countries' international promises, strengthen the customs cooperation and encourage investment and commercial activities among these countries.

Well-known products from the Portuguese-speaking countries such as coffee, cashew nut, wine, etc. have been served on an increasing number of dining tables in China, while those affordable and high quality Chinese goods for everyday consumption has enriched the markets of the Portuguese-speaking countries, which was widely welcomed by the local consumers, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, at the opening ceremony of the Forum meeting Saturday.

In addition to trade ties, the Action Plan also highlights the two sides' cooperation on sectors of finance, infrastructure, natural resources exploitation, tourism, education and human resources, etc.

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced at the opening ceremony of the Forum meeting that financial institutions from the Chinese mainland and Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) will set up a one-billion-U.S.-dollar development fund that was aimed at pushing forward the two sides' financial cooperation.

Around 1,500 officials and representatives from China and the seven Portuguese-speaking countries participated in the conference, according to the secretariat of the forum.

Under the main theme "Diversified Cooperation, Harmonious Development", various activities were held during the conference period, including the "Ministerial Conference" and the "Conference for Professionals in Finance".

Sponsored by China's Ministry of Commerce and hosted by the government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), the forum was created in Macao in 2003, with the joint participation of seven Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste. The participating countries of the Forum have signed two economic and trade cooperation action plans respectively in 2003 and 2006.

The next ministerial conference of the Forum was scheduled to be held in 2013 in Macao.