Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), said today that the MSAR government would advance work for building the Guangdong-Macau in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin in a pragmatic and orderly manner.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council last Sunday announced a general plan for building the Guangdong-Macau in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin.
Hengqin is an island located in the southern part of Zhuhai city in Guangdong province, just across Macao.
Ho said at a press conference at Government Headquarters that the building of the cooperation zone is of great significance to promoting Macau's appropriate economic diversification, facilitating Macao residents' life and work in Hengqin, pushing for the quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and enriching the practice of "One Country, Two Systems."
"It is also a major move to promote Macau's better integration into overall national development," he told reporters.
Ho said the MSAR government had been in close contact with the Guangdong provincial government and the Zhuhai municipal government seeking quality development of the zone.
The governments have reached agreement on the institutional structure in the cooperation zone, Ho said, adding that the MSAR government has appointed young, capable civil servants to the zone's executive body.
Ho said the MSAR government will thoroughly study the plan and make arrangements for its future work accordingly.
The MSAR government will pool together resources to help various sectors in Macau capitalize on the favorable policies offered by the central authorities, boosting Macau's appropriate economic diversification, Ho said.
He also promised that the MSAR government would create a living environment in Hengqin similar to Macau that is suitable living or working there, just as the plan requires, so as to expand Macau residents' quality living space.
The MSAR government will also seek innovations in improving the mechanism of extensive consultation, joint construction, joint management and shared benefits between Guangdong and Macau, promoting new practices and trials for the principle of "One Country, Two Systems," added Ho. – Xinhua, MPD
