During the 2023 Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference, which was held in Guizhou’s provincial capital of Guiyang on Friday morning, Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng pledged that Macau will join hands with its fellow PPRD members to participate in the ongoing development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) that day.
Ho also underlined during Friday’s joint conference that the in-depth cooperation zone’s development has made “phased” achievements.
The joint conference is a platform launched in 2004 for regional cooperation between eight provinces, one autonomous region and the nation’s two special administrative regions (SARs), collectively known as “9+2”, namely the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan; the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
This year’s one-day joint conference was hosted by Guizhou province.
According to the GCS statement, Ho told Friday’s joint conference about details of Macau government’s ongoing “1+4” drive aiming to appropriately diversify Macau’s economy.
The Macau government’s 1+4 model aims to consolidate the development of the city’s tourism and leisure industry while putting special emphasis on promoting the development of four new key industries, namely 1) big health, 2) modern finance, 3) high-tech, and 4) conventions and exhibitions as well as culture and sport.
According to the statement, Ho said during the joint conference that Macau is aiming to transform itself into a national-level regional medical centre that will serve the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) as well as other neighbouring regions.
Ho also said that Macau will put strong emphasis on the manufacturing as well as the research and development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products, which he described as an important component able to activate the development of Macau’s big health sector.
Concerning the development of a modern financial sector, according to the statement, Ho said that the Macau government will put special emphasis on the bond market, wealth management, finance leasing, renminbi (yuan) clearing, and private equity funds, as well as the promotion of cross-border transfer of green financial assets.
Regarding the development of Macau’s high-tech industry, according to the statement, Ho said during the joint conference that Macau will strengthen its participation in the development of the GBA science and technology innovation corridor, transform itself into a sci-tech service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), and attract high-tech companies outside Macau to embark on businesses here and the respective highly-qualified professionals to work here.
Ho also pledged that Macau will support in-depth exchanges and cooperation between other PPRD members and PSCs by continuing to make good use of its role as a business service platform between China and PSCs.
In addition, according to the statement, Ho also noted during the joint conference that the in-depth cooperation zone is an important platform for Macau to participate in the GBA development and the nation’s development.
Ho meets provincial-level leaders
Meanwhile, Ho held separate meetings with Hainan Governor Liu Xiaoming and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Chairman Lan Tianli in Guiyang on Friday, according to two separate GCS statements that day.
In his meeting with Liu, according to GCS, Ho noted that tourism is a major industry of both Macau and Hainan, because of which there was considerable potential for both sides to strengthen their tourism cooperation, Ho said.
In the meeting, Liu suggested that Macau and Hainan learn from each other’s experience in their respective developments in the in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin and Hainan’s free trade port, according to GCS.
In his meeting with Lan, according to GCS, Ho expressed his gratitude to Guangxi for its long-term support for the Dateng Gorge water conservancy project, which Ho noted will further ensure Macau’s stable raw water supply. The project, which is scheduled to be fully completed by the end of this year, is located in Guiping, a county-level city of the prefecture-level city of Guigang.
Ho also suggested that Guangxi and Macau jointly expand their respective tourism markets, considering the former’s ecological resources and ethnic minority cultures.
In the meeting, Lan noted that Guangxi is currently putting special emphasis on the high-quality development of its tourism and cultural industries, adding that he was expecting Macau businesses to strengthen their participation in it, according to GCS.
Ho arrived in Guiyang on Thursday for Friday’s joint conference. He returned to Macau later the same day.
On Thursday, Ho separately met with Communist Party of China (CPC) Guizhou Provincial Committee Secretary Xu Lin, Yunnan Governor Wang Yubo, and Sichuan Governor Huang Qiang.
A GCS statement on Friday morning announced that Ho also met with Fujian Governor Zhao Long in Guiyang on Thursday night.
In his meeting with Zhao, Ho noted that it had been less than 10 days since he met with CPC Fujian Provincial Committee Secretary Zhou Zuyi in Macau.
Ho also underlined the close people-to-people exchanges and ties between Macau and Fujian.
In the meeting, Zhao said that Fujian was expecting to learn more about Macau’s successful experience in its development in trade and commerce, finance and tourism, as well as conventions and exhibitions.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng speaks during Friday’s 2023 Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference in Guiyang. – Photo: GCS
Leaders of the PPRD members, namely the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan; the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, applaud during Friday’s joint conference in Guiyang. – Photo: GCS
