The management committee and the executive committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin held two separate meetings in Macau earlier this week, one with Macau deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) on Tuesday and one with Macau members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Wednesday, gathering their opinions and suggestions concerning fresh policies and measures aiming to ensure the full implementation of the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s various important speeches so as to accelerate Hengqin’s high-quality development, according to a statement by the zone’s executive committee yesterday.
The 106-square-kilometre Hengqin island in Zhuhai City is officially known as Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, after the zone was inaugurated in September 2021.
The zone’s management committee is its top decision-making body jointly administered by Guangdong Province and the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR). The zone’s executive committee, which is run under the management committee, is the body tasked with the zone’s daily functioning and execution of tasks.
The zone’s management committee is run under a dual director system, jointly led by the governor of Guangdong Province and the chief executive of the MSAR.
Currently, the zone’s management committee is jointly headed by Guangdong Governor Meng Fanli and Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai.
Macau Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak is the management committee’s executive deputy director. The management committee has five deputy directors comprising officials from Guangdong and Macau.
The zone’s executive committee, which is currently headed by Macau Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip, has five deputy directors comprising officials from Guangdong and Macau.
The meeting with local NPC deputies on Tuesday was chaired by Wong and Tai, as well as Kou Hoi In, the sole Macau member of the elite NPC Standing Committee, and Lao Ngai Leong, the head of the delegation of local NPC deputies.
The meeting with local CPPCC members on Wednesday was chaired by Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Macau’s first chief executive and now a vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, Wong, and Tai, as well as four Macau members of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, namely Huang Liuquan, Chui Sai Cheong, Lao Nga Wong, and Alan Ho Ion Sang.
The two meetings, which was also attended by other officials of the zone and officials from various Macau public entities, 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.
During Wednesday’s meeting, according to yesterday’s statement, Edmund Ho noted that the establishment of the in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin and its development is a major decision personally planned, deployed and promoted by President Xi Jinping.
He underlined that Macau and Hengqin must align with the new strategic positioning of “Macau + Hengqin,” unify their thoughts and actions with the central authorities’ decisions and deployments, and always maintain strategic determination and a sense of responsibility, focusing on key areas and critical phases.
According to the statement, Edmund Ho urged Macau members of the CPPCC National Committee to continue playing their role in maintaining close communication with government entities in Macau and Hengqin, while offering suggestions and making greater contributions to the in-depth cooperation zone’s high-quality development, with the aim of enabling the zone’s development to constantly achieve new breakthroughs.
During Tuesday’s meeting, according to the statement, Kou Hoi In said that the key to achieving the in-depth cooperation zone’s high-quality development lies in the smooth convergence of rules between Macau and Hengqin.
Kou called for Macau and Hengqin to accelerate the convergence of rules, with the emphasis in the areas of border immigration clearance, medical care, education, social security, telecommunications, and payment systems, while strengthening coordination in industrial planning between Macau and Hengqin and enhancing the security and fluidity of the flows of people, goods, capital, and information.
During the meeting, according to the statement, Lao Ngai Leong called for the in-depth cooperation zone to make greater efforts to secure national support and promote synergy between Guangdong and Macau with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of the implementation of the zone’s “tier-specific management” special customs arrangements.
Lao also called for the zone to more accurately respond to the needs of Macau residents and enterprises, advance the development of key projects in Hengqin, enhance the level of Macau-Hengqin integration, and foster improvements in quality and efficiency in the zone’s development.
During the two meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the statement, Tai Kin Ip said that centred on the new strategic positioning of “Macau + Hengqin,” the zone’s executive committee last year drew up a new list of priority investment attraction projects, having successfully attracted the establishment of a number of domestic and foreign enterprises in Hengqin.
Tai said that the support for the incubation and development of high-quality projects in Hengqin will be strengthened, while a number of large-scale projects will get off the ground there in an orderly manner later this year so as to accelerate the concentration of industrial and human resources.
During the two meetings, according to the statement, Wong underlined the need to proactively study and implement Xi’s important instructions concerning the in-depth cooperation zone’s development, and to strictly fulfil Sam’s requirements regarding the zone’s development.
Wong pledged that the zone’s management committee will continue to strengthen its communication and coordination with the zone’s executive committee with the aim of accelerating the convergence of rules and mechanisms between Macau and Hengqin.
Wong also underlined the management committee’s commitment to sorting out and studying the opinions and suggestions raised by the local NPC deputies and CPPCC members.
The handout photo provided by the Hengqin In-Depth Cooperation Zone’s executive committee yesterday shows CPPCC National Committee Vice Chairman Edmund Ho Hau Wah (centre), Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak (third from left), Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip (third from right), and four Macau members of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee (from left to right), Lao Nga Wong, Huang Liuquan, Chui Sai Cheong, and Alan Ho Ion Sang, addressing Wednesday’s meeting with local CPPCC members.
The handout photo released Hengqin executive committee yesterday shows Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak (second from right), Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip (right), Kou Hoi In (second from left), the sole Macau member of the NPC Standing Committee, and Lao Ngai Leong, the head of the delegation of local NPC deputies, addressing Tuesday’s meeting with local NPC deputies. Wong is the executive deputy director of the Hengqin in-depth cooperation zone’s management committee while Tai heads the zone’s executive committee.
