The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, met with member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Mr Jin Lei. The two sides exchanged views on promoting continued cooperation and exchanges between Macao and Shenzhen in the fields of scientific and technological innovation, tourism, and finance.
During the meeting on Friday (September 11) at Santa Sancha, the Chief Executive stated that the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government continues to implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important speeches and instructions, closely aligning with the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan. Macao is committed to deepening its development positioning as “One Centre, One Platform, and One Base”, as well as “One Hub”, enhancing the competitiveness of the industries earmarked under the MSAR’s “1+4” economic diversification strategy, accelerating the integrated development of Macao and Hengqin, and steadily advancing the appropriate diversification of Macao’s economy, so that the MSAR better integrates into, and serves, the country’s overall development.
With the strong support of the Central Government, all sectors of Macao society are joining hands to drive continuous new developments across the MSAR’s various undertakings, the Chief Executive said. In particular, he noted, as of Friday morning, the number of visitors to Macao this year had exceeded 30 million, with the figure achieved 22 days earlier than last year.
Mr Sam also pointed out that the MSAR’s sustained development has injected new momentum into Macao-Shenzhen cooperation. As a global hub for innovation, Shenzhen possesses strong capabilities in industry and in the academic and research fields. It is hoped that by deepening cooperation with Shenzhen, Macao can further draw on Shenzhen’s experience to enhance the MSAR’s capacity for the commercialisation of scientific research, he said. This would contribute to the development of the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town as an integrated platform for industry, academic teaching, and research.
Shenzhen has issued offshore renminbi-denominated municipal government bonds in Macao for two consecutive years, reflecting the fruits of the recent strengthened financial cooperation between the two places. Macao will continue to fulfil its role as a “precise connector”, with a view to assisting Shenzhen-based enterprises in expanding into markets in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, Mr Sam said.
Mr Jin expressed his gratitude to the MSAR Government for its long-standing support and assistance for Shenzhen’s development. He provided an overview of Shenzhen’s economic and social development. He also noted that in recent years, under the framework of the “One country, two systems” principle and with the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, cooperation between Shenzhen and Macao has continued to deepen, yielding positive results.
Shenzhen will thoroughly implement President Xi’s important instructions on work relating to Hong Kong and Macao, as well as apply the spirit of his series of important speeches and instructions regarding Guangdong and Shenzhen, Mr Jin said. In addition, Shenzhen will fully leverage its role – and assist Macao in its own role – as a central city and core driver of the Greater Bay Area, strengthen the coordinated development of major platforms, and continue to enhance practical cooperation across multiple sectors. This will drive both sides to achieve further results in areas such as trade and economic matters, finance, culture and tourism, science and technology innovation, logistics, youth talent development, and business innovation and entrepreneurship, thereby achieving a higher level of mutually-beneficial and win-win development.
Mr Jin said that Shenzhen will provide full support for Macao’s work in better integrating into, and serving, the country’s overall development. Shenzhen will also strive to make an even greater contribution to the continuous opening up of new prospects for high-quality development of the “One country, two systems” principle.
Also present at Friday’s meeting were: the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Chan Kak; the Director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, Mr Cheong Chok Man; member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Mr Zheng Hongbo; Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, Mr Luo Huanghao; Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Mr Jiang Likun; and Director of the Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Mr Guo Ziping.
