During his three-day visit to Heilongjiang’s provincial capital Harbin, Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai met with Communist Party of China (CPC) Heilongjiang Provincial Committee Secretary Xu Qin on Saturday morning where they exchanged views on strengthening cooperation between both sides, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) on Saturday.
Sam travelled to Harbin on Thursday where he attended the opening ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games on Friday. He returned to Macau on Saturday afternoon.
The opening ceremony was held at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Centre on Friday night, which was officiated by President Xi Jinping.
On Friday afternoon, according to a GCS statement that day, Sam visited the space museum of the Harbin Institute of Technology with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the nation’s space programme.
Sam mentioned, according to the statement, that the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government was dedicated to leveraging Macau’s role – as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries – to facilitate closer exchanges and cooperation between Heilongjiang and Portuguese-speaking countries, thereby better serving the national development strategy.
Both sides agreed that since the inclusion of Harbin and seven other provincial and regional capitals in the mainland’s Facilitated Individual Travel Scheme to Hong Kong and Macau – which began on May 27, 2024 – the exchanges between Heilongjiang and Macau have become increasingly frequent, and economic and trade relations have grown closer, showing a positive trend.
Sam also said he hoped that the two places would further strengthen cooperation in education, tourism, sports training, and the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry, creating broader opportunities for collaboration.
Heilongjiang (“Black Dragon River”), the nation’s eastern- and northernmost province with a about 32 million inhabitants, lies some 3,000 kilometres northeast of Macau.
Communist Party of China (CPC) Heilongjiang Provincial Committee Secretary Xu Qin (right) meets with Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai in Harbin on Saturday. – Photo: GCS
