Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng met with the top officials of Guangdong province this week to exchange views on a wide range of topics, such as boosting Guangdong-Macau ties, speeding up preparations for the setting-up of the Guangdong-Macau Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and resuming normal cross-border travel in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement yesterday.
Ho visited Guangzhou on Tuesday for a meeting with the secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Li Xi, and Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui. Ho returned to Macau after the meeting. Li and Ma are first- and second-ranked officials of the neighbouring province.
According to the statement, Ho said during the meeting that Macau was looking forward to promoting the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) in close cooperation with Guangdong.
Ho also said that Macau would focus their cooperation on the development of the Guangdong-Macau Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin as a pilot zone within the “One Country, Two Systems” framework and as a new platform for high-quality economic cooperation.
Ho also briefed Guangdong’s leadership on Macau’s effort to prevent and control COVID-19, noting the disease had been controlled in the city.
The two sides at the meeting also discussed further cooperation in fighting the novel coronavirus disease and updating arrangements aimed at facilitating cross-border travel in response to the latest developments on the COVID-19 front, the statement said.
According to the statement, the two sides agreed that the resumption of normal cross-border travel would be beneficial to the GBA development.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Li said Guangdong would work further to deepen cooperation with Macau, in particular regarding the Guangdong-Macau Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and thereby contribute to pressing ahead with the GBA development.
Li was also quoted as saying that the Guangdong government will adhere to the aspirations and directives for Macau set out in December by President Xi Jinping, and act in accordance with the “One Country, Two Systems” principle concerning cooperation with Macau.
Xi paid an inspection visit to Macau in late December, when Ho was sworn in as Macau’s new chief executive.
He also said Guangdong would work closely with Macau in order to achieve further progress in a raft of matters, including measures to keep the COVID-19 epidemic under control.
