LISBON, Dec. 19 -- Portugal'a last governor to Macao Vasco Rocha Vieira has said recently Macao has a great opportunity to play its role as a gateway between China and other regions in the world.

In an interview with Xinhua ahead of the 15th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland on Dec. 20, Rocha Vieira said Macao, with good local conditions, infrastructure and human resources, has maintained sound relations with other areas of the world.

"Macao always prepared itself to be able to play a role in the region and to be a gateway for other places in the world," he said.

Recalling on the process of Macao's return to the motherland, he said the transition took place in a gentle and tranquil manner through frank cooperation between Portugal and China.

Rocha Vieira hoped the Portugal-China relations would develop at a higher level in the next few years, saying that they "can have even greater ambitions to launch bigger programs between China and Portugal."

He stressed that both Macao and Hong Kong should continue implementing the "one country, two systems" principle, saying that it is important to recognize there is solely one country even though with two systems.

Commenting on anti-corruption, Rocha Vieira said it is not an easy task and transparency of instruments and institutions is fundamental to solving the problem.

While hailing the cooperation between China and Portugal, he said the two countries should expand bilateral cooperation from economy to other fields such as tourism and culture.

"The development of tourism is not only beneficial to the economy, but also to the Portugal-China relations, as it can deepen understanding between the two peoples," he said.