The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, meets with the Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mr Li Qiang.
The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, met on Thursday (3 June) in Shanghai with the Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mr Li Qiang, to exchange views on how to boost cooperation in economic and trade matters, and in the tourism sector.
Mr Ho, leading a Macao delegation, arrived in Shanghai on Thursday for a four-day visit. While in Shanghai, Mr Ho is to attend the first Shanghai-Macao Cooperation Conference.
A Shanghai-Macao cooperation conference mechanism was set up in November 2019, but it could not convene a meeting in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first of such meetings, taking place this year, was aimed to help promote cooperation between the two places. Macao’s strengths in relation to its legal system created further opportunities for cooperation in bond issuance, and trade of gemstones, noted Mr Ho.
The Chief Executive went on to say that Shanghai’s path for development was a model and reference point for Macao. The Macao delegation’s visit to Shanghai aimed to garner better understanding of Shanghai’s experience. President Xi Jinping had set high standards in terms of Macao’s development, Mr Ho noted. As a relatively small place, Macao had to select carefully appropriate industries to complement its economic-diversification effort. Shanghai’s experience in talent cultivation, and management of tertiary education, was an inspiration, with lessons for Macao on how to boost its own tourism sector, and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industry, including via use of space available in Hengqin, on the mainland, next door to Macao.
In his remarks, Mr Ho gave an update on Macao’s epidemic-control effort. With the support from the Central Government and the mainland authorities, Macao had not recorded any community-originating COVID-19 case for more than 431 consecutive days. Macao was a healthy, safe, and quality destination.
By organising the promotional event “Macao Week in Shanghai” this week, the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government would be able to promote Macao not only to residents in mainland cities, but also internationally through foreigner enterprises based in Shanghai, Mr Ho added.
During the meeting, Mr Li briefed the Macao delegation on developments in recent years regarding Shanghai’s economy, its finance service, trade sector, shipping industries, as well as the city’s latest advancements in the fields of science and technology.
Mr Li also talked about Macao’s effort to control the epidemic, saying the Macao SAR Government’s effective measures – leading to zero COVID-19 related deaths, zero community cases for more than a year, and zero infection among medical staff – helped make Macao the only city outside the mainland where residents were eligible for quarantine-free travel to Shanghai.
Mr Li noted the Macao SAR Government’s adherence to the “One country, two systems” principle, and its devotion to the well-being of the Macao public, and to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Mr Li also said Macao had devised policies targeting its economic diversification, and measures for further integration into the national development effort, via the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area initiative.
Shanghai looked forward to developing even closer relations with Macao, especially making use of Macao’s strategic position as acommercialandtrade cooperationservice platform between ChinaandPortuguese-speaking countries, in order to expand Shanghai’s ties with those countries.
Officials attending the meeting in Shanghai included: the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Lei Wai Nong; the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms Ao Ieong U; the Director of Macao Government Tourism Office, Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; the Director of the Sports Bureau, Mr Pun Weng Kun; the Director of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau, Mr Tai Kin Ip; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Monetary Authority of Macao, Mr Chan Sau San; the Rector of the University of Macau, Mr Song Yonghua; the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ms Mok Ian Ian; the President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Lau Wai Meng; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Ms Chan Lou; and the Director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, Mr Cheong Chok Man.
Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Huang Liuquan, and Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Yao Jian, also took part in the meeting.
Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Gong Zheng; member of the Standing Committee of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Secretary-General of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mr Zhuge Yujie; and Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Zong Ming, also attended the meeting.
In the evening, Mr Ho attended the opening of “Macao Week in Shanghai”, an event to promote Macao’s tourism industry. He toured exhibition booths at the roadshow.
While in Shanghai, Mr Ho will visit a number of local industrial projects, in order to gain a better understanding of the latest developments in Shanghai’s economy.
