During a session held in Macau on Saturday about the spirit of the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai pledged that Macau will make greater contributions to the central authorities’ ongoing efforts to build a great country and advance national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernisation.
At the invitation of the MSAR government, a delegation from the central authorities visited Macau on Saturday where its two members briefed representatives from various segments of Macau’s civil society about the spirit of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.
The delegation’s two members were Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President Hou Jianguo, and Zhu Weidong, a deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs. Zhu is also the deputy director of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group.
The MSAR government held two sessions on Saturday, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, where Hou and Zhu briefed the respective participants about the fourth plenary session’s spirit.
The local government invited the media to cover Saturday afternoon’s session, while the session in the morning was held behind closed doors.
The session in the afternoon was also broadcast live by public broadcaster TDM.
Saturday’s two sessions were held at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (aka Forum Macao Complex) in Sai Van.
According to a statement from the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) on Saturday, the session in the morning was attended by Sam, Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the MSAR Director Zheng Xincong, MSAR principal officials, members of the MSAR government’s top advisory Executive Council, local legislators, judges, prosecutors, directors (or presidents) and deputy directors (or vice-presidents) of bureaus and other bureau-level public entities, and department chiefs of the public entities.
Sam and Zheng attended both sessions on Saturday.
In addition to Sam and Zheng, the session in the afternoon, which was open to the media, was also attended by Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Macau’s first chief executive and now a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Sam’s predecessor Ho Iat Seng, local deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC), Macau members of the CPPCC National Committee, as well as representatives from various segments of Macau’s civil society.
Both sessions on Saturday, according to GCS, were each attended by about 600 participants.
The fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which was held in Beijing from October 20 to 23, adopted the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development.
During Saturday afternoon’s 2.5-hour session, Sam made an opening speech. After Hou and Zhu presented the spirit of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and answered questions from several attendees, Sam made another speech to conclude the session.
In his opening speech, Sam said that the implementation of the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) will provide broader space and greater development opportunities for Macau’s appropriate economic diversification and improvements in residents’ well-being.
Sam underlined that the MSAR government and all segments of Macau’s civil society must earnestly study and deeply understand the guiding ideology, main objectives, and major strategies for the nation’s economic and social development during its 15th Five-Year Plan period, and further strengthen their sense of responsibility, urgency, initiative, and proactiveness in seizing national development opportunities.
Sam pledged the local government’s commitment to unswervingly implementing the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, resolutely ensuring the implementation of the central authorities’ strategic deployments concerning Macau, and aligning Macau’s development with national development strategies.
Sam underlined that the local government will draw up and ensure the sound implementation of Macau’s third five-year socioeconomic development plan (2026-30) while continuing to enhance law-based governance effectiveness, advance the city’s appropriate economic diversification, and strengthen economic, trade, scientific, technological, cultural, and people-to-people cooperation with the Chinese mainland.
Sam pledged the local government’s commitment to strengthening Macau’s role as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base” and making greater contributions to the nation’s overall development and Chinese modernisation.
The Macau government’s “One Centre, One Platform, One Base” concept refers to Macau developing itself into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure, a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and an exchange and cooperation base with Chinese culture as its mainstream and co-existence of different cultures.
Sam underlined that studying, publicising, and implementing the spirit of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee well is a major political task for the MSAR at present and for some time to come.
Sam shares five insights
In his concluding speech at the end of Saturday afternoon’s session, Sam presented five insights for Macau to study and implement the fourth plenary session’s spirit well. Sam said that his five insights were based on the MSAR government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring the implementation of the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s various important speeches made during his inspection visit to Macau in December last year as well as based on the MSAR government’s latest development deployments.
First, Sam said, the local government will resolutely safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, security and development interests, comprehensively, accurately and unwaveringly implement the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and translate learning achievements into tangible results that drive progress in various areas of Macau’s development.
Second, Sam said, the local government will continue to strengthen its coordination mechanisms with local patriotic community associations in order to consolidate the foundations of its grassroots governance.
Sam said that Macau’s patriotic community associations should also improve their governance and better serve as bridges of communication between the government and residents.
Third, Sam pledged that the local government will accelerate progress to achieve new milestones in its economic diversification efforts and in the integrated development between Macau and Hengqin.
Sam also underlined the local government’s commitment to its people-centred approach, safeguarding the city’s basic livelihood safety net, promoting social fairness, and ensuring that the fruits of development benefit all Macau residents more broadly and equitably.
Fourth, Sam said, the local government will leverage Macau’s distinctive strengths – backed by the motherland and connected to the world – with the aim of making greater contributions to the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the nation’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Sam also underlined that the local government will ensure Macau’s role as the “precise connector” between China and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries.
Fifth, Sam pledged the local government’s commitment to aligning Macau’s development with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan and ensuring the sound implementation of Macau’s third five-year socioeconomic development plan.
Zheng urges support for 3rd 5-Year Plan’s design, realisation
Also delivering an opening speech during Saturday afternoon’s session, Liaison Office Director Zheng Xincong acknowledged that all participants of the session are patriots and important forces for Macau’s development, urging them to take the lead in studying and publicising the fourth plenary session’s spirit while continuing to create a positive atmosphere for various segments of civil society to advance Macau’s high-quality development through the implementation of the fourth plenary session’s spirit.
Zheng also urged the participants to support the local government’s upcoming work to devise and implement its third five-year socioeconomic development plan while making greater contributions to fostering Macau’s long-term prosperity and stability.
Hou, Zhu offer explanations, advice to Macau
During Saturday afternoon’s session, Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs Zhu Weidong pointed out that the fourth plenary session has drawn up a blueprint for the nation’s development over the next five years and represents, at a new historical starting point, another general mobilisation and comprehensive deployment to advance Chinese modernisation. The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical stage for laying a solid foundation for the whole country to basically achieve socialist modernisation, Zhu noted.
Zhu stressed the need to deeply understand the guiding principles and main goals for the nation’s economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, grasp the rich meaning and clear direction of the fourth plenary session’s call to promote the long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau, and ensure the proper alignment between Macau’s third five-year socioeconomic development plan and the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan.
During Saturday afternoon’s session, CAS President Hou Jianguo said that according to its 15th Five-Year Plan, the nation will strengthen original innovation and make breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, promoting deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, adding that these initiatives can combine Macau’s strengths with those of GBA cities, accelerate the efficient transformation and utilisation of major scientific and technological achievements, and foster new quality productive forces.
Hou also suggested that Macau fully leverage its role as a business service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries while making good use of its advantages as a free port and separate customs territory in order to help mainland enterprises “go global”.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai delivers a speech during Saturday afternoon’s session about the spirit of the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), at the Forum Macao Complex.– Photos: GCS
Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Zheng Xincong delivers a speech during Saturday afternoon’s session at the Forum Macao Complex.
Zhu Weidong, a deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs (left), and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President Hou Jianguo, address Saturday’s session at the Forum Macao Complex.
