On the fifth day of his six-day working visit to Macau, Xia Baolong, who heads both the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office (HKMWO) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) held a meeting with senior representatives from the city’s business sector yesterday morning where he said that with the rise of trade protectionism in the United States, business communities in Hong Kong and Macau must stand firmly with the motherland, encouraging them to “dare to struggle” against external pressures.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip, who also attended the meeting, quoted Xia’s remarks made during the closed-door meeting while speaking to reporters after the meeting, which was held at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (aka Forum Macao Complex).
Xia arrived in Macau on Thursday last week for his fact-finding visit scheduled to end today. Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai is scheduled to summarise Xia’s investigation and research tour in a press conference this afternoon.
Speaking to journalists after yesterday morning’s meeting, which lasted almost three hours, Tai said that Xia listened to views and opinions from 21 business representatives during the meeting concerning topics such as Macau’s ongoing campaign to appropriately diversify its economy and its current economic development.
According to Tai, Xia said during the meeting that entrepreneurs, enterprises and all the others in the business sector in both Hong Kong and Macau have always been upholding the good tradition of loving the country and Hong Kong and loving the country and Macau while participating in the nation’s overall development. Xia praised their willingness to stand with the nation during every critical moment, sharing responsibilities and addressing challenges, Tai said.
Tai quoted Xia as saying during the meeting that entrepreneurs, enterprises and all others in the business sector in both special administrative regions have achieved remarkable success in the course of the nation’s development, demonstrating that their growth is intertwined with the nation’s development “as a community with a shared future”.
According to Tai, Xia said during the meeting that with the rise of unilateralism and trade protectionism in the United States, Hong Kong and Macau’s business communities must unite and stand firmly with the motherland, underlining that “compromise and concession lead nowhere”, encouraging them to “dare to struggle” as only through struggle can development be achieved.
Xia also expressed his hope that Hong Kong and Macau’s business communities will maintain confidence in the two cities’ respective economic growth prospects, urging them to continue to invest in Hong Kong and Macau with the aim of making contributions to the two cities’ respective economic development and enabling them to leverage their own advantages and strengths, Tai told reporters.
According to Tai, Xia also urged the local government, the public entities under his portfolio in particular, to maintain close communication with the business representatives attending yesterday’s meeting with the objective of rolling out respective measures aiming to enable the “constructive and useful” opinions and suggestions raised during the meeting to finally get off the ground.
Yesterday’s meeting was also attended by Sam and Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon.
Xia visits UTM campus
Meanwhile, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) last night, Xia visited the main campus of the public Macao University of Tourism (UTM) on Mong Ha Hill in the peninsula yesterday afternoon, where UTM representatives briefed him about the university’s teaching approach that equally emphasises theoretical knowledge and practical application.
Xia was accompanied by Sam and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Wallis O Lam during his visit to the UTM campus, the statement said.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip speaks to reporters after Xia Baolong’s meeting with local business representatives at the Forum Macao Complex yesterday. – Photo: GCS
State Council Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong (centre) talks to students at the Macao University of Tourism’s (UTM) educational hotel during his visit to the university’s Mong Ha campus yesterday afternoon. – Photo: GCS
