GUANGZHOU – The regulations for promoting the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin will take effect on March 1, according to a press conference held by the Standing Committee of Guangdong’s Provincial People's Congress today.
The regulations cover eight chapters and 66 articles on the administration system of the zone, and its planning, construction and management, as well as industrial development.
In terms of accelerating Macau’s appropriate economic diversification, the regulations detail how to develop sci-tech R&D and high-end manufacturing, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), cultural and tourism industries, the MICE sector, and commerce and trade, as well as modern finance.
Moreover, the regulations focus on how to facilitate Macau residents’ livelihood, promote the integrated development of Hengqin and Macau, and ensure corresponding legal protections.
In order to better align with Macau’s public service and social security system, the regulations also put forward a series of measures on education, medical care, social services and transport, such as the Macau New Neighborhood project and schooling for Macau residents’ children in Hengqin.According to the Standing Committee of Guangdong’s Provincial People's Congress, the regulations specify the responsibilities of the zone's executive committee and delegate powers to the greatest extent possible to allow the zone to fully carry out reforms and achieve its development.
The regulations will provide a more comprehensive and concrete legal basis for the administration and development of the zone as well as support Guangdong and Macau in improving the new mechanism of mutual discussion, joint construction, joint administration, and shared benefits.The regulations also aim to ensure a strong legal underpinning to the development of the zone, promote long-term prosperity and stability in Macau and better integrate Macau into the overall development of the country, according to Zhu Wei, deputy director-general of the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
Moving forward, the zone will introduce more supporting measures and policies in line with the new regulations to boost the zone's key industries, said Ng Chi Kin, deputy director of the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
– Courtesy GD Today (minor edits by The Macau Post Daily
Caption: Officials of the Standing Committee of the Standing Committee of Guangdong's Provincial People's Congress in Guangzhou today hold a press conference about the new regulations about the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. – Photo courtesy of Southcn.com
