The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, paid on Friday (8 January) visits to Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, in order to bolster bilateral ties between those places and Macao, and with an aim to spur joint contributions regarding development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area).

Mr Ho is leading an official delegation on a four-day tour to the Greater Bay Area. On Friday, the first day of the tour, he had meetings respectively with local leaders in Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, and visited several local industrial projects.

The Macao delegation firstly arrived in Zhongshan where the Chief Executive met with the Secretary of the Zhongshan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhongshan Municipal People's Congress, Mr Lai Zehua.

During the meeting, Mr Ho said the two cities would step up effort for intensified cooperation and for the promotion of closer exchanges between the people in the two places. He also reviewed historical ties between Macao and Zhongshan, noting the frequent exchanges between the two cities had laid a sound foundation for further cooperation.

Mr Ho also talked about Macao’s policy blueprint for 2021. Besides economic recovery, the Macao SAR Government was working to define a path for the city’s future development. Healthcare, modern financial services and information technology were three major sectors in that regard, Mr Ho added.

The Chief Executive also gave an update on Macao’s effort against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Macao had seen its economy progress to the recovery phase. Macao was a safe city in terms of risk from COVID-19, and had recorded zero local cases for more than 280 consecutive days. The current priority for the SAR Government was to prevent the virus from being imported to Macao, in order to enable the recovery of the local tourism industry, Mr Ho said.

During the meeting, Mr Lai noted that Zhongshan was the first Greater Bay Area city that the Macao delegation had visited during the current tour in Guangdong Province, illustrating Macao’s support for Zhongshan. Since Mr Ho took office as Chief Executive, stronger effort had been made for public administration reform in Macao, increased investment in public facilities, and betterment of the economy and people’s livelihoods. The especial effort against COVID-19 had won applause among the local community and acknowledgement from the Central Government, Mr Lai noted.

Zhongshan was working to advance cooperation with Macao in relation to industrial development, science and technology, cultural affairs, tourism and education, Mr Lai said. Noting that Macao was one of the four core cities for regional development within the Greater Bay Area, Mr Lai said Zhongshan was looking forward to stepping up bilateral ties in the science and technology sector and the biopharmaceutical industry. Effort could also be made to promote closer exchange in public services and in people-to-people exchanges, Mr Lai added.

While in Zhongshan, the Macao delegation paid a visit to a pharmaceutical company and the National Health Science and Technology Industrial Base.

Afterwards, the Macao delegation arrived in Jiangmen and visited a rail transport company, before meeting with the Secretary of the CPC Jiangmen Municipal Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Jiangmen Municipal People's Congress, Mr Lin Yingwu. 

During the meeting involving Jiangmen officials, the two sides exchanged views on how to strengthen cooperation in cultural affairs, tourism and economic matters, as well as in trade, financial services, youth entrepreneurship and services relating to people’s livelihoods.

Both cities had attractions that had been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Macao had Chinese and Western cultural elements, and Jiangmen had its unique cluster of watchtowers, Mr Ho noted. Macao was looking forward to bolstering complementary development of cultural and tourism offerings, in order to accelerate recovery of the tourism sector overall, Mr Ho added.

The Chief Executive went on to say that the COVID-19 pandemic had wrought serious effects on Macao’s economy and tourism sectors: nonetheless Macao’s ongoing effective effort against the disease had boosted the SAR Government’s confidence in the recovery of the local economy.

The pandemic had also highlighted the importance of facilitating adequate diversification in the local economy, Mr Ho said. Macao was advancing development of its healthcare industry, modern financial services and the information technology sector. The Macao and Jiangmen governments could strengthen ties in relation to these matters, so as to enable greater participation from Jiangmen enterprises.

During Friday’s meeting, Mr Lin noted Jiangmen and Macao had signed in recent years a number of documents on cooperation, advancing collaboration to utilise Jiangmen’s advantages in terms of land space, resources and its industrial strengths.

In advancing the development of the Greater Bay Area, Jiangmen and Macao could explore opportunities in modern financial services, youth entrepreneurship, railways and other transport networks, while dedicating effort in tourism, cultural and creative industries, medical services, education, services for the elderly and the youth exchange field, Mr Lin said.

Later on Friday, the Macao delegation continued its tour, with a stop in Zhaoqing. The delegation visited a high-tech company, and met with the Secretary of the CPC Zhaoqing Municipal Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Zhaoqing Municipal People's Congress, Mr Fan Zhongjie.

Mr Ho and Mr Fan exchanged views on how to advance development of the Greater Bay Area and on issues relating to water supply from the Xijiang river, as well as cooperation in agriculture.

During the meeting, Mr Ho said his visit to Guangdong cities in the Greater Bay Area would help Macao gain reference points in terms of exploring its own path for development, while making contributions to advancing the development of the Greater Bay Area.

Zhaoqing had ample land and rich resources in terms of traditional Chinese medicine. The latter would offer opportunities for further cooperation in that area, Mr Ho noted. Macao and Zhaoqing would explore fresh opportunities in the traditional Chinese medicine industry; the latter being a key initiative in Macao, he added.

Speaking in the meeting, Mr Fan gave a briefing on the latest developments relating to Zhaoqing, explaining the city’s advantages in terms of its transportation networks, its history and culture, its business environment, land resources, and ecological environment. Mr Fan stated that Zhaoqing would strive to ensure the water quality of the Xijiang river, and thus secure the quality of the water supply to Macao.

Mr Fan mentioned Zhaoqing had advantages in terms of industrial development, given its rich land resources and its low costs in terms of land development. The city also was positioned as a trading hub for agricultural products in the Greater Bay Area, he stated. Zhaoqing was looking forward to stepping up cooperation with Macao in relation to cultural affairs and tourism, education and modern financial services.

Members of the Macao delegation attended the meetings included: the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Lei Wai Nong; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Hoi Lai Fong; the Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; the Director of the Macao Economic Bureau, Mr Tai Kin Ip; the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Ms Lei Ut Mui; the President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Lau Wai Meng; and the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Ms Chan Lou.