The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, meets with the Secretary of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, Mr Xu Qin.
The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, today met in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, with the Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mr Xu Qin. Both sides exchanged views on further strengthening cooperation between the two places.
The Chief Executive has been on a visit to Heilongjiang that started on 6 February. While there, he attended the opening of the 9th Asian Winter Games Harbin 2025.
In today’s meeting, Mr Sam expressed his gratitude to Heilongjiang Province for inviting him to attend the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games. He stated that Friday’s opening ceremony was on a grand scale, and once again demonstrated to the world the country’s capability in hosting large-scale international sports events, which was a source of great encouragement.
Mr Sam mentioned that the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government was dedicated to leveraging Macao’s role – as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries – to facilitate closer exchanges and cooperation between Heilongjiang and Portuguese-speaking countries, thereby better serving the national development strategy.
Both sides agreed that since the inclusion of Harbin and seven other provincial and regional capitals in the mainland’s Facilitated Individual Travel Scheme to Hong Kong and Macao – starting from 27 May 2024 – the exchanges between Heilongjiang and Macao have become increasingly frequent, and economic and trade relations have grown closer, showing a positive trend. Mr Sam said he hoped that the two places would further strengthen cooperation in education, tourism, sports training, and the traditional Chinese medicine industry, creating broader opportunities for collaboration.
Also present at the meeting were Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Province, Mr Yu Jian, as well as representatives from: the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee; the First Bureau of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council; the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Heilongjiang Province; and the Department of Commerce of Heilongjiang Province.
