The Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Han Zheng, hears a briefing by Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, regarding the opinions and suggestions from different sectors of the community of Macao for the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, in Beijing.
The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, gave a report on Thursday (28 June) to Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Han Zheng, regarding opinions and recommendations – as conveyed by the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government and various sectors of the Macao community – on the anticipated development plan of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area).
At the meeting held at the Ziguang Pavilion at Zhongnanhai in Beijing, the Chief Executive expressed his sincere gratitude for the long-term support, concern for, and assistance to the Macao SAR from the Central People’s Government and Vice Premier Han. Mr Chui noted that on 1 July last year, the “Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Greater Bay Area” had been signed, witnessed by President Xi Jinping, enabling Macao to participate in the advancement of the Greater Bay Area.
The Macao SAR already had been positioned as a world centre of tourism and leisure and as an economic and trade services cooperation platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, noted Mr Chui. As part of this process, the SAR Government had been intensifying its efforts to promote Macao’s adequate economic diversification, actively engaging in regional cooperation in order to achieve sustainable development.
Reporting on the work the Macao SAR had commenced in support of the development of the Greater Bay Area, the Chief Executive said that Macao had been upholding – via the city’s integration into the country's master development plan – the principles outlined at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. To this end, Macao paid special attention to its infrastructure development. It had commenced a series of preliminary studies and preparatory work, in order to facilitate – on a proactive basis – the merger of the Macao SAR’s Five-Year Development Plan and its implementation, with the country’s effort regarding development of the Greater Bay Area.
Past experience indicated Macao had faced challenges in promoting adequate economic diversification due to practical issues, including the available pool of talented people and constraints on available land. The development of the Greater Bay Area offered Macao a precious opportunity to move forward with its adequate economic diversification, thereby creating a greater number of new opportunities for all sectors of society.
It was anticipated that the development plan of the Greater Bay Area would address four important issues in relation to Macao, it was noted at Thursday’s meeting:
1. That the Central People’s Government attached great importance to the role and functions of Macao in the development of the Greater Bay Area;
2. That the Central People’s Government expected Macao to make use of its advantages in order to promote complementary gains, mutual beneficial cooperation, and coordinated development, and to create a more favourable environment for Macao’s adequate economic diversification;
3. That the planning for the Greater Bay Area would emphasise the benefits that would accrue to the public, including a focus on development of a quality environment, and promotion of the well-being of the public. Such benefits would also include measures that enabled Hong Kong and Macao residents to work and live in mainland China; and
4. As the Macao SAR Government had long been participating in the studies and formulation of the framework plan of the Greater Bay Area, the Central People’s Government had frequently heard, often adopted, and highly respected, the Macao SAR Government’s opinions.
Thursday’s meeting heard that the Macao SAR Government would follow the strategy of the Central People’s Government in order to: implement perfectly the Greater Bay Area development plan; make best use of Macao’s advantages; enhance synergies and complementarities with neighbouring cities; jointly build a world-class bay area and metropolis; and realise long-term and stable implementation of the principle of “One country, two systems”.
Officials attending the meeting also included the Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr He Lifeng; Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council, Mr Ding Xuedong; the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Zhang Xiaoming; the Director of the Liaison Office of Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Mr Zheng Xiaosong; and the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms O Lam.
