The First Shanghai-Macau Cooperation Conference, which was held in the eastern metropolis yesterday, was a crucial and fresh opportunity for the further development of ties between the two places, “representing the launch of a high-level cooperation mechanism and a platform for dialogue, the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement.
According to yesterday’s statement, “Macau and Shanghai will step up efforts to deepen exchanges across a broad range of sectors.”
Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng co-chaired the conference.
The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) Deputy Director Huang Liuquan and Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Deputy Director Yao Jian attended the conference.
On the sidelines of the conference, Macau and Shanghai signed five agreements – a framework agreement on strengthening exchanges and cooperation in key areas of the digital economy, smart city development, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); a letter of intent on launching Shanghai and Macau exchanges and cooperation in cultural affairs and tourism; an agreement on sports cooperation; a letter of intent on cooperation in the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) sector; and a framework agreement between the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies(SIIS) and the University of Macau (UM) on academic exchanges and cooperation.
In his opening remarks, according to the statement, Ho underlined that the inaugural edition of the conference helped establish an optimised mechanism to boost cooperation and widen the scope of exchanges.
Ho described Shanghai’s achievements in economic and trade matters, as well as in finance and manufacturing, and especially its advances in urban construction and urban management as reference point for Macau.
Ho noted that Macau and Shanghai enjoy good prospects for broad cooperation in fields such as financial services,traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and scientific and technological innovation. He underlined that Macau aims to develop modern financial services.The two sides could work together to create fresh conditions for mutual progress, the chief execute said, such as the joint training of financial professionals, promoting the presence of bond-issuing institutions from Shanghai in Macau, and bolstering exchanges between financial-service providers in the two cities.
Ho suggested that Macau and Shanghai step up efforts to promote the high-quality development of traditional Chinese medicine. Macau’s role as a “bridgehead” could help introduce quality Chinese medicines from the mainland to Portuguese-speaking countries and the 27-nation European Union, as well as countries and regions covered by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he said.
Macau’s four State Key Laboratories – in the areas of TCM research, microelectronics, the Internet of things (IoT) for a smart city, and planetary sciences – along with cooperation in technology-based policing, could help accelerate progress in scientific and technological innovation, and smart city development, Ho said.
Addressing the conference, Mayor Gong underlined the two cities' growing ties in recent years in a number of fields, such as financial services, MICE, cultural affairs, tourism, and youth exchanges. Gong said he was confident the two cities will enjoy even brighter cooperation and development prospects in the future.
Gong listed two aspirations for bilateral cooperation: 1) to explore together the opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative, the Yangtze River Delta Regional Integrated Development Initiative, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA); and 2) to implement proactively initiatives outlined in the cooperation proposal during the conference, and the five agreements signed on its sidelines that cover a host of economic and professional fields.
Shanghai Vice Mayor Zong Ming and Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong each delivered a speech at the conference, reviewing bilateral ties and outlining prospects for future cooperation.
Members of the two government delegations also addressed cooperation in the latest economic services, cooperation in cultural affairs and tourism, and cooperation in the MICE sector.
In his speech, according to the statement, Lei raised three points regarding Shanghai-Macau cooperation: 1) to deepen their cooperation mechanism in line with the nation’s development needs; 2) to expand pragmatically their scope for cooperation, in fields such as education, culture and tourism, innovative industries, science and technology innovation, smart city development, urban governance, TCM, healthcare, and environmental protection; 3) to establish key cooperation projects, such as a signature MICE event co-hosted by the two cities.
Ho and his entourage arrived in Shanghai on Thursday for a four-day working visit, which coincides with the “Shanghai Macau Week” roadshow organised by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) which aims to promote Macau as a "safe and quality travel destination" even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (seventh from left), Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng and members from the Macau and Shanghai delegations to the 1st Macau Shanghai Cooperation Conference pose on the sidelines of their meeting in Shanghai on Friday. Photo: GCS
