The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, speaks to reporters before his departure for Beijing.
The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today embarked on a three-day visit to Beijing, to invite Beijing authorities to be part of the next edition of the Macao International Trade and Investment Fair. Speaking to reporters this morning before his departure for Beijing, Mr Chui said he would meet with the Secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee, Mr Guo Jinlong, for detailed discussions on further opportunities for Beijing-Macao cooperation. He said the next round of Beijing-Macao cooperation would cover: administration and justice; economy and finance; and social and cultural affairs. In the future, the main areas related to Beijing-Macao cooperation would be reviewed on a yearly basis. Further topics for cooperation would include sports, traditional Chinese medicine, environmental protection, culture, tourism, and youth affairs. Beijing-Macao cooperation would help further drive Macao’s sustainable development and promote the diversification of the city’s economy, Mr Chui said. It would also help the city in taking advantage of the growing number of opportunities in terms of regional cooperation, and in expanding ties with three economic zones on the mainland, respectively in the Pearl River Delta region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Bohai region. The Government already has established a long-term cooperation relationship with Guangdong Province, in the Pearl River Delta region. More recently, Macao established a partnership with Jiangsu Province in the Yangtze River Delta region. By deepening cooperation with Beijing, Macao would be able to strengthen its ties with the Bohai Economic Rim, covering Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province. The other highlight of the Chief Executive’s visit to Beijing will be a meeting with officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, and from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, to discuss Macao’s first Five-Year Development Plan. The proposal for this Five-Year Development Plan incorporates advice from the National Development and Reform Commission and from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Mr Chui said the Government had received nearly 4,200 submissions – featuring about 10,800 opinions – during the two-month long consultation period on the proposal for the Five-Year Development Plan. The consultation period ran until 30 June inclusive. Most of the opinions collected focused on livelihood issues and on the future of Macao’s development. The Government was currently preparing the final version of the Five-Year Development Plan, Mr Chui said. The plan will outline proposals for the city’s social and economic development for the period 2016 to 2020.