CE meets Secretary of CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee to deepen cooperation on all fronts

MACAU, March 16 - The Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and Guangdong Province will jointly implement the guiding principles of the “Two Sessions” and translate into practical action the strategic deployments laid out in the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan. The two will work together to deepen Guangdong-Macao cooperation, advance the high-quality construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and promote Macao-Hengqin integrated development.

The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, today led a MSAR Government delegation to Guangzhou, in Guangdong, to meet with the Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mr Huang Kunming, and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Meng Fanli.

During the meeting, Mr Sam expressed his gratitude to the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and the Provincial Government for their continued care and support for the sustainable development of the MSAR, particularly their significant contributions to the joint construction of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

The recent “Two Sessions” in Beijing reviewed and approved the outline of the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, noted Mr Sam. The outline explicitly set out a series of steps for important deployments to support Macao in consolidating and enhancing its competitive advantages, and in better integrating into and serving overall national development, thereby bringing new and significant developmental opportunities to Macao, he said.

The MSAR Government will proactively align with the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan and properly compile and implement the Third Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the MSAR, Mr Sam stated. He expressed hope for Guangdong’s continued strong support in jointly advancing the high-quality construction of the Greater Bay Area, building upon the existing foundation of deepening comprehensive Guangdong-Macao cooperation, and thus achieving breakthroughs in key areas.

The Chief Executive emphasised the need to strengthen the alignment of rules and mechanisms in scientific and technological innovation, economic development, and public services, accelerating the transformation of the Greater Bay Area into a world-class city cluster with global influence and a premier international bay area.

The Chief Executive added that Guangdong and Macao must consistently benchmark their performance against President Xi Jinping’s “three Key-points” requirements in order to step up efforts in building the Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. It was imperative firmly to implement the “Macao + Hengqin” development positioning, aim for Macao-Hengqin integration, and strengthen Guangdong-Macao synergy, he said.

The focus would be on developing a batch of landmark, pioneering projects, including those mentioned in the 15th Five-Year Plan, such as the Macao-Hengqin International Education (University) Town, the Macau International Airport Hengqin Upstream Cargo Terminal, and the Hengqin section of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai (Macao) High-speed Railway.

Meanwhile, efforts should be made to promote the synergistic development of industries in Macao and Hengqin, integrate civic and social services between the two areas, and realise infrastructure connectivity and institutional connectivity in relation to rules and mechanisms.

Mr Sam stressed that the MSAR looked forward to working hand in hand with Guangdong Province, based on the principles of reciprocal cooperation, making every effort to elevate to a new level pragmatic cooperation across multiple fields, thereby serving overall national development via higher-quality Guangdong-Macao cooperation.

Secretary Huang congratulated Macao on the progress achieved in its socio-economic development under the leadership of the Chief Executive, and thanked Macao for its long-standing strong support for Guangdong’s various endeavours.

Following General Secretary Xi Jinping’s inspection tours in 2024 to Macao and Guangdong, Mr Xi visited Guangdong again last year to attend and declare open the 15th National Games, which were jointly hosted by Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, (HKSAR) and the MSAR. This fully demonstrated the General Secretary Xi’s deep and affectionate interest in the development of Guangdong, Macao, and the Greater Bay Area. The resounding success of the 15th National Games vividly showcased the many manifestations of Chinese modernisation in the Greater Bay Area, and clearly highlighted the unique advantages and bright prospects of the “One country, two systems” principle.

Secretary Huang added that the Central Government’s latest Government Work Report and the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan – which were voted through at the recently-concluded “Two Sessions” – included vital deployments relating to the construction of the Greater Bay Area and the development of Hengqin. The documents also provided new and significant opportunities for Guangdong and Macao to advance higher-level cooperation from a new starting point, he added.

Guangdong would deeply implement the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi’s important speeches on building the Greater Bay Area, as well as his series of important speeches and instructions regarding Guangdong. In accordance with the Central Government’s deployments and requirements, Guangdong would anchor itself to the new positioning of "one strategic pivot and two places" and join hands with the HKSAR and the MSAR to make fresh strides in promoting the Greater Bay Area, enabling Guangdong to play better its role as the main force and locomotive of this endeavour.

Guangdong aimed to shoulder greater leadership responsibility in such matters, setting an example and bearing the heavy burden, while striving to create new advantages and achieve new breakthroughs on this new journey. Guangdong was willing to work with Macao to advance pragmatically cooperation in all fields during the period covered by the 15th Five-Year Plan, strengthening planning synergy and policy alignment, and focusing on achieving the second-stage goals of the Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

Secretary Huang said Guangdong and Macao would work more closely to enhance the quality and efficiency of the Cooperation Zone, continuously deepen infrastructure connectivity and institutional connectivity in terms of rules and mechanisms, and constantly boost the capacity to attract and gather high-quality resources and elements from home and abroad.

In addition, the two sides would endeavour to expand the four new industries earmarked for Hengqin and facilitate greater convenience for residents of both places in their daily lives and employment in Hengqin. The two sides would also further strengthen the Macao-Zhuhai pivot, and jointly open a new horizon in Guangdong-Macao cooperation, injecting a continuous stream of new momentum into the high-quality development of the “One country, two systems” principle.

Members of the MSAR Government delegation participating in the meeting included: the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Mr Wong Sio Chak; the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tai Kin Ip; and the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Chan Kak.

Other Guangdong officials present included: member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Executive Vice Governor, Mr Zhang Hu; member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and head of its United Front Work Department, Mr Wang Xi; member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Vice Governor of Guangdong, Mr Zhang Guozhi; and Secretary-General of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government, Mr Chen Min.