President of the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre (Lisbon). Associate Professor of International Relations with tenure, accredited at the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra, where she established the course “China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries in World Trade”. Former head of the International Relations department and coordinator of the School of Economics International Office at the same university. Holds a Ph.D. degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies – University of London, a Master degree from the Institute of Higher European Studies – University of Strasbourg, and a Bachelor degree from the Institute of Social and Political Sciences – University of Lisbon.

She was a Post-doctorate scholar at the Institute of Political Studies of the Portuguese Catholic University of Lisbon and visiting professor at the University of Macau, the University of Salamanca and the University of Lyon. She was a board member of the European Association for Chinese Studies and president of the International Relations Section and member of the board of the Portuguese Political Science Association. Auditor of the Portuguese National Defense Institute. Co-founder of the consulting company ChinaLink, and of the Observatory for China in Portugal. Author of "China and the Macau Negotiations, 1986-1999" (HKUP) and "China’s New Silk Road: An Emerging World Order" (Routledge), as well as other publications on China’s foreign policy.