Chief Executive Chui Sai On called Monday for open-minded and innovative forms of cooperation between Macau and Beijing, particularly in terms of how to advance Macau’s participation in the central government’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA).
According to a statement released through the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS), Chui made the remarks in Beijing in a speech delivered at the launch ceremony of the Beijing-Macau Cooperation Partnership 2018 event.
Chui also said that his government was looking forward to expanding cooperation, “in order to create fresh benefits for the people from both places.”
The chief executive, who is paying a working visit to the national capital, also said that Beijing-Macau ties were an “important template for Macau to press ahead regarding reciprocal cooperation with other mainland cities”.
Macau’s development paths – as a world centre of tourism and leisure, and as an economic and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries – and its overall strategy to diversify Macau’s economy, would in turn foster Beijing-Macau cooperation, Chui said.
According to The Macau Post Daily during the ceremony, Chui and Ji Lin, chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), witnessed the signing of three cooperation agreements covering vocational training, cooperation in winter sports, and Macau’s membership of the China World Tourism Heritage Promotion Alliance.
According to the GCS statement, Chui also said that since the start in 2016 of the Beijing-Macau Cooperation Partnership programme, the two cities had encouraged more frequent exchanges between young people and civil servants from both places and also promoted patriotic education in Macau.
Chui underlined four aspirations for further cooperation between the two cities: 1) optimisation of communication mechanisms for governmental and non-governmental organisations as well as media entities; 2) incremental expansion in major investment areas; 3) strengthening of cooperation in serving key national strategies; and 4) enhancement of people-to-people exchanges.
Chui’s delegation arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a three-day visit. His entourage includes Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac and O Lam, the chief-of-cabinet of Chui’s office.
Monday’s signing ceremony was also attended by Song Zhe, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, and Yao Jian, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau.
