The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, and the Governor of Hebei Province, Mr Xu Qin, witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Xiongan New Area Bureau of Reform and Development and the Monetary Authority of Macao, during a ceremony held at the Government Headquarters in Macao.
Macao and Hebei Province have signed an aggregate of three agreements about furthering bilateral ties on the following topics: development of Xiongan New Area; economic and trade affairs; and cooperation on traditional Chinese medicine.
The Thursday (11 April) signing ceremony for the agreements was witnessed by the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, and the Governor of Hebei Province, Mr Xu Qin, at the Government Headquarters.
The first agreement – the memorandum of understanding between Xiongan New Area’s Bureau of Reform and Development and the Monetary Authority of Macao – aims to make use of Macao’s inherent advantages in the development of the planned Xiongan New Area in a way that is beneficial to both places. The economic zone is located about 100 kilometres south of Beijing.
According to that memorandum, the two sides have agreed to initiate investment cooperation designed to create innovative ways of bringing a steady and long-term supply of external capital to the economic zone. The terms of the memorandum aim to help Macao advance its own special financial services sector, as well as foster cooperation with countries and places covered in the “Belt and Road” initiative, and with Portuguese-speaking countries.
The second agreement, between Hebei Province’s Department of Commerce and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, aims to advance Hebei-Macao economic and trade cooperation in the context of certain major national strategies. These are: the Coordinated Development for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region; the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; and the “Belt and Road” initiative.
The third agreement, a memorandum of understanding between Hebei Province’s Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Macao’s Health Bureau, regarding exchanges on traditional Chinese medicine, aims to create favourable conditions for a coordinated and sustainable development of the sector in the two places.
The memorandum on traditional Chinese medicine aims to optimise resource allocation so that the respective advantages of the two places interact in a complementary way. It is also designed to further cooperation with regard to: training professionals in the field of traditional Chinese medicine; supporting academic exchanges; and promoting science and research projects.
Prior to the signing ceremony, the Chief Executive held a meeting with Hebei Governor Mr Xu, during which they exchanged views on how to intensify Hebei-Macao cooperation in various areas.
