Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng held two separate meetings with mayors from two Guangdong cities, Guangzhou and Zhuhai, on Tuesday at Macau Government Headquarters, according to two Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) statements that day.
During his meeting with Guangzhou Mayor Guo Yonghang, according to GCS, Ho noted that Macau and Zhuhai “quickly” set up a joint COVID-19 prevention and control mechanism in January 2020 when Guo was the secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhuhai Committee, adding that this had “laid a good foundation” for COVID-19 prevention and control work over the past three years.
Macau confirmed its first novel coronavirus case on January 22, 2020. The Macau government abandoned its long-running dynamic zero-COVID approach in early December last year.
According to GCS, Ho said during the meeting that the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government “immediately” rolled out various measures to boost the number of visitor arrivals after the central government eased its COVID-19 border control measures between the mainland and the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. With the “orderly” development of Macau’s tourism sector, Ho said that he was confident that the city’s economy would “steadily” recover this year.
Ho also said during his meeting with Guo that the regulations for promoting the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, which were announced last week, will provide institutional protection for the zone’s long-term development. The regulations will take effect on March 1.
The zone is also colloquially known in Chinese as in-depth cooperation zone.
During the meeting, according to GCS, Ho pledged that the MSAR government will grasp the opportunity with the aim of catching up with its desired development goals that had been impeded by the three-year COVID-19 pandemic. The Macau government will “spare no effort” to push ahead with the development of the in-depth cooperation zone with the aim of supporting its ongoing drive to appropriately diversify Macau’s economy, Ho said.
According to GCS, Ho also told Guo that the Macau government aims to make good use of the Guangzhou-Macau cooperation mechanism to strengthen its participation in the development of Guangzhou’s Nansha district, which he said has extensive development potential.
During his meeting with Ho, according to GCS, Guo said that Guangzhou and Macau “have developed a deep friendship”, adding that Ho gave the Guangzhou government “many precious opinions” on COVID-19 prevention and control when the provincial capital was hit by COVID-19 outbreaks last year.
Guo told Ho that the Guangzhou government will continue to support the development of Macau and the in-depth cooperation zone.
Meeting with Zhuhai mayor
Meanwhile, during his meeting with Zhuhai mayor Huang Zhihao on the same day, according to GCS, Ho noted that Macau and Zhuhai have established a good cooperation foundation, adding that he aims for the two governments to jointly continue to strengthen the foundation.
According to GCS, Ho said during the meeting that the Macau government aims to continue its cooperation with its Zhuhai counterpart for developing the in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin, “leveraging complementary advantages” of the two cities’ respective industries, and strengthening the “synergy” of both sides’ joint development.
During the meeting, Huang told Ho that the Zhuhai government will give Zhuhai-Macau cooperation top priority in its governance this year. Huang pledged that the Zhuhai government will fully support the in-depth cooperation zone’s development that will “expand new spaces” for Macau’s ongoing drive to diversify its industries, according to GCS
The Zhuhai government will foster world-class manufacturing-based industrial clusters there with innovative ideas, Huang said during the meeting.
Guangzhou and Zhuhai are part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) that comprises nine cities in the province as well as the nation’s two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (right) meets with Guangzhou Mayor Guo Yonghang at Government Headquarters on Tuesday. – Photo: GCS
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (right) talks with Zhuhai Mayor Huang Zhihao at Government Headquarters on Tuesday. – Photo: GCS
