During a meeting with the Macau delegation of deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on Saturday, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang urged Macau to make solid efforts to promote its appropriate economic diversification and advance the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Macau has 12 deputies to the NPC.
During the ongoing fourth session of the 14th NPC, according to Xinhua, Ding attended a deliberation meeting of the NPC delegation from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and a deliberation meeting of the NPC delegation from the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) respectively on Saturday morning.
According to Xinhua, Ding urged the two special administrative regions to proactively align with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, better integrate into and serve the nation’s overall development, and make greater contributions to advancing Chinese modernisation.
During his meeting with the NPC deputies from Macau, according to Xinhua, Ding urged Macau to solidly advance its appropriate economic diversification, deepen the development of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, effectively leverage the driving effect of industrial clusters, and advance its “One Centre, One Platform, One Base” campaign.
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.
According to local Chinese-language media reports, Ding also said during the meeting of the Macau NPC delegation that Macau and Hengqin need to jointly study on how to tackle the issues hindering the strong alignment of rules, mechanisms and systems between the two sides, with the aim of transforming President Xi Jinping’s aspiration for Hengqin’s development into concrete achievements.
Ding’s 5 expectations for Macau
According to the local media reports, Macau NPC deputy José Chui Sai Peng, after the meeting, said that Ding raised five expectations for Macau. The first is to proactively align with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, while the second is to support the chief executive and the MSAR government in strengthening executive-led governance.
Ding’s third expectation, according to the reports, is for Macau to solidly promote its appropriate economic diversification, while the fourth is to firmly safeguard national security and Macau’s social stability. Ding’s fifth expectation is for Macau to strengthen the local forces promoting patriotism and love for Macau.
Macau NPC deputy Vong Hin Fai told local Chinese-language media after the meeting that Ding’s expectations indicate that the central authorities are paying closer attention to the development of the two special administrative regions and raising higher requirements for them.
Macau NPC deputy Ng Siu Lai told local Chinese-language media after the meeting that Ding acknowledged the achievements that Macau has made in its social services, particularly those for the elderly and children. Ng also quoted Ding as saying that both Hong Kong and Macau need to further enhance their awareness of risk prevention concerning national security.
Ng also quoted Ding as saying that national security is not limited to the realms of diplomacy and military affairs but is also integrated into all aspects of residents’ daily lives and that safeguarding security across various social sectors requires the broad participation and joint efforts of all residents.
Liaison chief expects upgraded mainland-Macau cooperation
Meanwhile, during a separate meeting of the Macau NPC delegation on Saturday, which was held in the afternoon, the director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in MSAR, Zheng Xincong, said that the nation’s development plan for 2026 provides significant guiding importance for Macau in promoting its appropriate economic diversification through technological innovation, according to the local media reports.
Zheng also said he expects the Ministry of Commerce to continue advancing the upgrading of cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Macau, based on the development positioning of “Macau + Hengqin”, and optimise CEPA (Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) policies to reduce burdens and restrictions on enterprises from Macau.
Principal official voice support for ‘two sessions’
Meanwhile, Macau’s nine principal officials, chief public prosecutor, as well as Legislative Assembly (AL) President André Cheong Weng Chon and Court of Final Appeal (TUI) President Song Man Lei have respectively issued statements voicing their support for the ongoing fourth session of the 14th NPC and the ongoing fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The annual sessions of the NPC and the CPPCC National Committee are known as the nation’s “two sessions”.
In their respective statements, they also vowed to advance their work in compliance with the spirit of the “two sessions”.
Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang (centre) attends Saturday morning’s deliberation meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) delegation from Macau during the fourth session of the 14th NPC, flanked by State Council Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) Director Xia Baolong (right) and local NPC deputy Lao Ngai Leong, who is heading the Macau NPC delegation.– Photo: Xinhua
Central People’s Government Liaison Office in MSAR Director Zheng Xincong (third from right) attends Saturday afternoon’s meeting of the NPC delegation from Macau, at Beijing Hotel. – Photo courtesy of TDM
