Traditional Chinese culture is viewed with a lot of respect. The beautiful calligraphy, the tea, acupuncture, Taoism, works like the The Forbidden Palace or the Great Wall, they're all widely considered to be very interesting.
As of the Chinese, well, I'm afraid there might be a little bit of xenophobia against them. While not always being the case, Chinese immigrants in Portugal tend to stay within their own communities. Some members of those communities will stay in Portugal for years without even learning how to speak anything beyond very basic Portuguese, and their accent gets made fun of. So in most cities in Portugal Chinese people will be only known as sellers of cheap, low-quality products and Chinese restaurant waiters (also, there's hardly any real Chinese food in Portugal). And since Chinese culture is very different from the Portuguese one, the Chinese end up being seen as being "weird". Again, this is broadly speaking; there are several Chinese immigrants and their children who are well integrated in Portuguese society, and of course not every Portuguese is Sinophobic. However, no one thinks of the Chinese as lazy. They're thought of as people who'll work longer hours for lower wages, and so generally more hardworking than the average Portuguese.
There's also been an increasing demand for books on modern China.
Portuguese look at Chinese as hard working people. They may be owners of cheap items stores or restaurants or even Japanese style restaurants (it’s a trend) but are always respected. In general most people Chinese origin that integrate into the Portuguese society are viewed without prejudice and respected as part, although there is some resentment for the particular benefits (most of them not real) that they receive.
Chinese people, at least the ones living in Portugal, seem polite and organized. They do not usually mix with locals, unless they are kids and they study in our schools. They are usually hardworking people, which could be seen through the scholar success of their children.
China, on the other hand, seems like many of other big players around the world, a country of contrasts. It is a powerful nation, in military and economic terms, yet it is facing pretty nasty environmental, and some may also say social, issues. Its middle class seems to be growing, but a big chunk is still in poverty.
The Chinese culture and history is huge and interesting, and although it does not sell as much as the anglo-saxon culture, I believe it will continue to gain relevance in the future.
Portugal and China have historical links which go back some time and also, Portugal had a colonial interest in Macau as did the British with Hong Kong. So, there is a long-standing link there. Portugal was at one point a colonial power and so there are similarities between its 'motivations' and those of others like Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany and even the US. A key motivation of the colonial powers was exploitation, period, often with little thought for the rights and interests of the colonised! I suspect that the Portuguese today are too busy worrying about their own personal, community and national needs.
The comments about the quality of Chinese manufactured goods is also interesting. China has the opportunity to up the quality of its manufacturing and is already going so. A really good comparison is Japan: once the perceived quality of its goods was the same as China's today - bad to fair with some very good. That was to change with a clear and sustained focus on quality control. China has exactly the same options.
The Portuguese are mostly focused on their own political and economical problems at the moment. The majority of Chinese people living in my part of Portugal( the Island of Madeira) tend to keep to them selves and not be very social out side of their work environment. The children on the other hand fit in very well and adopt the Portuguese culture easily.
The general conversations about China (the country) is usually about industry and how it would be difficult to compete in such a market and that Portugal as a country should be more self self sufficient.
SORRY THIS IS SUCH A LONG ANSWER, BUT I PUT DIFFERENT ANSWER TOGETHER IF ONE OF THEM DOESNT WORK
HOPE THIS HELPS
