Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, meets with the Secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, Mr Zhang Shuofu in Beijing.
The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met on Sunday (24 March) with the Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mr Zhang Shuofu, and the Mayor of Guangzhou, Mr Wen Guohui, while they were all on a visit to Beijing for the China Development Forum 2019. The aim of Sunday’s meeting with the Guangzhou officials was to seize – on a mutual basis – opportunities arising from the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area), and to enhance cooperation and exchanges between the two cities.
The Chief Executive met with those leading officials of the Guangzhou Municipality after attending on Sunday morning the opening ceremony of the China Development Forum 2019. Mr Chui expressed his gratitude to Guangzhou for its engagement and support since the establishment of the Macao SAR.
Mr Chui said that the people of Macao and of Guangzhou had close and heartfelt ties, formed from cultural affinity, and rooted in friendship. As a result, the two places had long been cooperating and developing strong bilateral relationships in many areas. The Chief Executive additionally congratulated Guangzhou for achieving excellent results regarding its recent efforts at development.
He also said that Macao-Guangzhou cooperation had always been a focus for Macao, as the city worked to participate in regional collaboration. The recently-launched “Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”had identified Guangzhou and Macao as core cities of the Greater Bay Area project. It was hoped that Macao and Guangzhou would continue strengthening cooperation against the backdrop of new opportunities arising from the Greater Bay Area – especially cooperation in technology and innovation – as well as enhancing cooperation in tourism, trade, cultural and youth affairs matters, thereby building on existing foundations.
Mr Chui stressed that Macao and Guangzhou would enjoy a bright future in terms of cooperation in multiple areas. This would be based on the existing mechanism for cooperation between the two cities, and the newly-established mechanism for cooperation between core cities of the Greater Bay Area.
The Chief Executive emphasised the importance of cooperation between Macao and Guangzhou regarding youth development. Universities in Guangzhou had long been providing great support to Macao’s tertiary institutions in terms of development of educational services, in order to foster for Macao the cultivation of talented people.
Guangzhou’s Mr Zhang said that Guangzhou-Macao cooperation was developing rapidly: commerce and trade continued to grow; cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine had achieved considerable results; scientific and technological research projects had commenced; and the two cities would be able jointly to approach the countries and regions covered by the “Belt and Road” initiative with a view to cooperation regarding conventions and exhibitions. Macao and Guangzhou had also achieved progress in terms of: research and development; commerce and trade; culture; tourism; and establishment of a cooperation platform.
Mr Zhang said Guangzhou would follow the plan outlined by the Central People’s Government, in order to seize the opportunities arising from development of the Greater Bay Area, and would spare no effort in providing support and services for the development of the Macao SAR.
Guangzhou was also planning to create favourable conditions for young Macao people interested in engaging in the development of the Greater Bay Area, offering them fresh opportunities for either establishing businesses, gaining employment, studying or pursuing practical training in Guangzhou.
Other officials attending Sunday’s meeting included the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms O Lam; the Director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, Mr Mi Jian;the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Ms Lei Ut Mui; the Director of the Office of the Macao SAR in Beijing, Ms Leong Kit Chi; the Executive Vice Mayor of Guangzhou, Mr Chen Zhiying; the Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, Ms Xu Yonghong; the Secretary General of Guangzhou Municipal Committee, Mr Pan Jianguo; and the Secretary of the CPC Nansha District Committee, Mr Cai Chaolin.
