Harald Brüning
Macau plays an “irreplaceable role” in the nation’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa has told The Macau Post Daily in an exclusive interview.
Liu, who holds a doctorate in Management Science, pointed out that “Macau has been an important stop on the Maritime Silk Road since ancient times.”
Liu, who worked in top positions in the petrochemical industry before he embarked on a career in the Foreign Ministry, underlined that “with its special geographic location and the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ advantage, as well as its close links with the Portuguese-speaking countries in language, regulations, laws and culture, Macau plays an irreplaceable role and influence in the Belt and Road Initiative.”
Liu, who has headed the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macau Special Administrative Region since February, said he believed that “through joining the Belt and Road Initiative, Macau will not only expand opportunities for its own development, but also better align itself with the national strategy and serve our nation’s overall development needs.”
The interview was conducted with today’s centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in mind.
Liu, who was born in the northern port city of Qingdao and is a former assistant foreign minister, emphasised that the “One Country, Two Systems” principle “is a pioneering initiative with no historical precedent and a major contribution China has made to the world.” He underlined that “this great model subverted the conventional wisdom that lost territories could only be reclaimed by force,” adding that “it embodies the political wisdom of the CPC, and contributes a splendid China chapter to the history of political civilisation.”
Liu, who holds the rank of ambassador, said that “it is a historical fact that without the leadership of the CPC, there would be no New China, or socialism with Chinese characteristics” and “neither would there have been the smooth return of Macau nor the prosperity and stability after its return to the motherland.”
China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999 after a transition process from Portuguese to Chinese rule that analysts have described as markedly smooth, in stark contrast to the acrimonious 1997 handover in Hong Kong
Liu also said that the local Commission of the Foreign Ministry “firmly guards against foreign interference in Macau affairs, maintains the hard-earnt positive development in Macau, and resolutely safeguards Macau’s enduring prosperity and stability.”
The central government’s top diplomat posted to Macau also said: “We will promote further integration of Macau’s ‘one centre, one base, one platform’ construction with the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative, so that Macau compatriots can feel a real sense of gain and happiness.”
Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa addresses a seminar about Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Nape on Monday. Photo courtesy of TDM
