Xia Baolong, who heads both the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office (HKMWO) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO), paid a two-day fact-finding visit to the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin on Friday and Saturday where he visited a number of industrial parks, tech companies and other facilities with the aim of gaining a better understanding of Hengqin’s latest urban and industrial development, and he also convened a meeting urging the Macau government to comprehend the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important speeches to ensure the effective implementation of its campaigns to appropriately diversify Macau’s economy and boost Hengqin’s development.
The HKMWO and HKMAO released a statement on Saturday night announcing details of Xia’s two-day “investigation and research” tour.
After completing his various site visits to Hengqin, according to the statement, Xia convened a meeting there on Saturday morning where Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip briefed him about the Macau government’s economic policies and strategies for this year. In addition, the statement said, Xia exchanged views with Tai as well as other officials from the mainland and Macau attending the meeting on Macau accelerating its appropriate economic diversification, advancing the in-depth cooperation zone’s development, and better integrating itself into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA).
According to a follow-up statement by Tai’s office on Saturday night, Xia underlined during the meeting in Hengqin on Saturday morning that the various important speeches made by Xi during his inspection visit to Macau and Hengqin in December last year have provided clear directions and crucial guidance for Macau’s appropriate economic diversification and Hengqin’s development, urging the Macau government to thoroughly study and understand the spirit of Xi’s speeches to ensure their effective implementation.
On Friday afternoon, the HKMWO-HKMAO statement said, Xia visited the “Music on the TM River” complex* where he was briefed by officials of the zone’s executive committee about Hengqin’s urban planning and development as well as its industrial development.
The zone’s top decision-making body is its management committee, which is jointly headed by Guangdong Governor Wang Weizhong and Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai.
The zone’s executive committee, which is run under the management committee, is the body tasked with the zone’s daily functioning and execution of tasks.
Afterwards, the statement said, Xia headed to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation between Guangdong and Macau with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the Guangdong-Macau cooperation on promoting the development of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Big Health industries, where he visited the Guangdong TCM Laboratory to know more about Guangdong-Macau cooperation on advancing the TCM industry-academia-research collaboration and its industrialisation.
Xia also visited a health tech company to gain an understanding of its product research and development as well as its marketing campaign, the statement said.
On Saturday morning, the statement said, Xia visited Hengqin’s cross-border e-commerce and livestreaming industrial park with the aim of gaining a better understanding of its role in driving the development of Macau’s e-commerce industry and supporting Macau young people’s employment and entrepreneurship.
Afterwards, the statement said, Xia headed to the Novotown, a shopping, entertainment and education multipurpose complex where he visited a tech company with the aim of gaining an understanding of Hengqin’s industrial clustering.
Industrial clustering refers to the geographic concentration of interconnected businesses in a particular industry or similar ones.
* TM refers to Tianmu, a river running through the central part of Hengqin island. The “Music on the TM River” is a 16-storey multipurpose complex located on a small artificial island in the Tianmu River. The complex houses a conference centre, exhibition spaces, science and innovation centres, offices, hotels, and other commercial facilities.
State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) Director Xia Baolong (centre) tries out medical equipment at a health tech company in Hengqin on Friday. – Photos: HKMAO
State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) Director Xia Baolong (right) talks with Secretary for Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon (front, second from left) at the “Music on the TM River” complex in Hengqin on Friday. Cheong heads the zone’s executive committee.
