The Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Joint Conference 2014 was held today in Macao to summarise the progress and recognise the achievements on co-operation in the past 12 months.

Substantial progress has been achieved in various aspects of co-operation to facilitate steady bilateral socio-economic development and continuous deepening of mutual complementarity and mutual benefits.

In the coming years, the co-operation mechanism will be further enhanced to promote more orderly and effective implementation of the Framework Agreement on Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao. There will be a special focus on the co-operation projects related to the development of Hengqin, Cuiheng of Zhongshan and Nansha, achieved through launching innovative pilot projects to continue improving the well-being of the people of Guangdong and Macao.

The joint conference was held in the morning, in the Four Seasons Hotel Macao.

Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, and the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Zhu Xiaodan, led their government delegations to the conference and delivered keynote speeches. The Secretary for the Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, and the Deputy Governor of Guangdong Province, Ms Zhao Yufang, reported on the results of and progress with co-operation between Guangdong and Macao. Other key officials in attendance included the Deputy Director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Mr Zhou Bo; and the Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Ms Qiu Hong.

The conference recognised that through frequent top-level direct communication between Guangdong and Macao, as well as ongoing interactions, co-ordination and close co-operation at working levels to jointly implement the highlighted projects and relevant provisions under the Framework Agreement on Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao, substantial progress and enhancements have been achieved in various areas.

These areas include promotion of service trade liberalisation; facilitation of co-operation in developing regions such as Hengqin, Nansha and Zhongshan; improvement of people’s livelihoods; and the development of Macao as a world tourism and leisure centre and a business and trade services platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.

With the support of the Central People’s Government, Guangdong and Macao will co-operate more closely to create favourable conditions for realising a moderately diverse economy and sustainable development of society.

Meanwhile, the continued implementation of the Framework Agreement on Co-operation between Guangdong and Macao has also enhanced people’s well-being and fostered innovation to demonstrate Macao’s unique advantages, providing significant support for Macao to realise the principle of “One Centre, One Platform”.

Looking to the future, the conference reached a consensus that Guangdong and Macao should continue to perfect their co-operation mechanism in order to more orderly and effectively implement the framework agreement. There will be special focuses on developments in key areas for co-operation, and pilot projects will be launched for improving people’s well-being, expediting Macao’s moderate economic diversification and enhancing the comprehensive competitiveness of Guangdong and Macao.

In the coming year, Guangdong and Macao will join hands to fully implement China’s Twelfth Five-year Plan, and strive for support from the Thirteenth Five-year Plan, to provide new room and opportunities for the development of Guangdong and Macao.

The highlights of Guangdong-Macao co-operation for the coming year are as follows:

(1) Strengthen co-operation mechanisms: Enhance communication and efficiency of co-operation between Guangdong and Macao; strengthen the co-ordination between Macao and Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Shenzhen under the mechanism of the Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Joint Conference;

(2) Jointly develop major regions to promote Macao’s sustainablility: Intensify the development and constructions in Hengqin to strive for more development space; pragmatically foster co-operation in developing Cuiheng New District as a demonstration zone for Guangdong-Macao co-operation; and steadily implement co-operation projects in Nansha and Jiangmen;

(3) Leverage the unique advantages of economic co-operation and expedite moderate economic diversification: Consolidate the results achieved under CEPA and take the lead to promote services trade liberalisation; give full play to Macao’s function as a business and trade services platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, to establish three centres to support business and trade co-operation with Portuguese-speaking countries, western Guangdong regions and Chinese merchants around the world; and strengthen co-operation in tourism, cultural and creative, and conference and exhibition industries;

(4) Attach importance to co-operation in society for improvement of people’s well-being: Continue to enhance co-operation in tertiary education, culture, environmental protection, food safety and energy; and

(5) Seize opportunities for co-operation in infrastructure construction, to accumulate capacity for future development: Jointly facilitate and expedite the progress of major infrastructure development projects, such as the new Guangdong-Macao border crossings, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and the seamless connection of Macao’s LRT to the Guangzgou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway at Hengqin Border Checkpoint.

At the end of the conference, Guangdong and Macao delegates signed a number of agreements and memorandums, including Framework Agreement on Co-operation in Construction of Cuiheng New District of Zhongshan; Memorandum on Strengthing Guangdong-Macao Teritary Education Exchange and Co-operation; Pearl River Estuary Region VTS Data Sharing and Co-operation Programme; Development Plan for Guangdong-Macao Cultural Exchanges and Co-operation 2014-2018; Co-operation Agreement on Individual Visit Scheme for Sailing Tourism; and Memorandum of Co-operation in Expediting Transformation and Upgrading of the Zhuhai Park of the Zhuhai-Macao Cross-border Industrial Zone.