Portuguese President Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio said in Bangkok Monday that he believed the central government of China will be happy to develop Macao and make the territory prosperous and peaceful.

China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Macao from Portuguese colonial rule at midnight Sunday.

Sampaio, who arrived in the Thai capital Monday morning directly from Macao after the handover ceremony, said he hoped that Hong Kong and Macao will develop in a complementary way.

As Macao returned to China, "a page was closed and a new chapter will begin," Sampaio told Xinhua.

Now that Macao has returned to China, the Portuguese and Chinese governments will further consolidate, improve and develop bilateral relations based on mutual respect, cooperation at

various levels and economic development.

Sampaio was for a two-day working visit to the Tahiland. Earlier Monday, he held talks with Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai on bilateral relations and the issue of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony.