Macau Chief Executive Chui Sai On will take part today in a coordinating body to drive the development of the Greater Bay Area and further integrate Macau and Hong Kong’s economies with those of nine Guangdong cities.
Vice-Premier Han Zheng, who has been Beijing’s point person on the bay area project, is to lead the group, which will report directly to China’s cabinet, the State Council.
Chui will be joined by his Hong Kong counterpart Carrie Lam, Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui and head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission He Lifeng.
Government sources said the group would act as a coordinating body for the 11 cities and make top-level decisions for subordinates to follow.
Members will meet today and an announcement on policy measures is likely to be made afterwards, though details of the entire plan, and how the work will be split among the cities will probably not be available just yet.
The group is to iron out the different interests among cities and make sure they are on the same page.
The leading group will make the final decisions about the Greater Bay Area plan.
Reliable sources said that the group was likely placed under the authority of the State Council, rather than the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Chui Sai On concluded an official tour of the cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay on 11 July with a three-day visit to the cities of Zhaoqing, Foshan, Huizhou and Dongguan, during which he held meetings with local officials.
The Chief Executive, in the second half of June, started visiting the nine cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Great Bay, with visits to Zhuhai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, from 21 to 22 June, and Zhongshan and Jiangmen, on the 25 June.
The Chief Executive travelled to Beijing on 28 June to convey to Deputy Prime Minister Han Zheng the views of the Government of Macau and the various sectors of society on the development plans for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay.
Chui Sai On is expected to return to Macau Thursday.
