"Today we crucially depend on the investor base we have and what we know is that investors that for example buy German debt do not invest in higher risk debt," Casalinho said.

"If China can be an alternative to continue the efforts of expanding the investor base, it is important," she added.

Casalinho, who was speaking during the Financial Outlook Forum 2019 - "Portugal - From here to where?" at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, said the operation took two years to be negotiated, and despite having a "significantly" higher interest rate, it will compensate in the long term.

"It is important especially if we take a long-term perspective," she went on. "China has been diagnosed as one of the countries with the highest savings in the world, and that it could be, tend to be, a big operator or a big intervener in financial markets.”

According to Casalinho, placing the so-called 'Panda Bonds' was an opportunity Portugal could not miss.

The operation will take place from 29 to 30 May, and will go up to 1 billion renminbi, equivalent to €260 million, with a maturity of three years.

Portugal's secretary of state for finance, Ricardo Mourinho Felix, said Portugal was the first country to tap the Chinese bond market.