Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai met with the newly appointed commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), Bian Lixin, yesterday at Government Headquarters where they exchanged views on various topics including the MSAR’s external affairs and the successful implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle in Macau, with Sam pledging to continue strengthening communication and coordination with the commissioner’s office, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS).
Bian arrived in Macau to assume office on Friday last week, after the Central People’s Government announced on January 23 its decision to appoint Bian as the head of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the MSAR. Bian, a former head of the ministry’s Personnel Department, succeeded Liu Xianfa at the helm of the commissioner’s office. Liu concluded his five-year tenure in Macau on January 15, 2026.
Liu has meanwhile been appointed the central authorities’ special representative on African affairs.
During yesterday’s meeting, according to the GCS statement, Sam noted that since the establishment of the MSAR 26 years ago, the commissioner’s office has provided long-term strong support to Macau and assisted the city in tackling various internal and external challenges.
Sam acknowledged the full support provided by the commissioner’s office for Macau in leveraging its unique advantages, expanding external exchanges and cooperation, broadening external contacts, and strengthening its capacity to manage external relations.
According to the statement, Sam also acknowledged the office’s commitment to fully safeguarding Macau residents’ overseas rights and interests, promoting the city’s appropriate economic diversification, helping Macau leverage its institutional advantages brought about by the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and continuously creating new prospects for the high-quality development of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
During his meeting with Bian, according to the statement, Sam also underlined his government’s commitment to strengthening Macau’s role as “One Centre, One Platform, One Base”, leveraging the city’s advantages in its internal connectivity and external communication and its advantages from the blending of Chinese and Western cultures, proactively advancing the strategy of “going global and attracting investment”, and constantly enhancing Macau’s international competitiveness and influence.
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 the statement, Sam also said that he is planning working visits to a number of foreign countries scheduled for this year, while his government is planning to establish economic and trade offices in Southeast Asian countries with the aim of further expanding Macau’s tourism market and consolidating the city’s position as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.
Sam pledged that the local government will continue to strengthen its communication and coordination with the commissioner’s office, adding that he expects the office to continue supporting Macau in maintaining long-term prosperity and stability.
Bian vows to fully support Macau’s expansion of external exchanges
Meanwhile, the commissioner’s office also issued a statement last night about Bian’s meeting with Sam, according to which Bian said during the meeting that the remarkable achievements that Macau has made in its socioeconomic development over the 26 years since its return to the motherland have fully demonstrated the significant institutional advantages and robust vitality of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
According to the statement, Bian said that the commissioner’s office will resolutely implement the central authorities’ major decisions and deployments concerning foreign affairs and Macau-related work, firmly build a solid barrier for safeguarding national security, thoroughly practice the principles of “Diplomacy Benefiting Macau” and “Diplomacy for the People”, fully support Macau in expanding external exchanges and cooperation, make greater contributions to the development of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and foster a favourable external environment for promoting Macau’s long-term prosperity and stability.
According to the statement by the commissioner’s office, Sam pledged during the meeting that the local government will further strengthen its communication with the commissioner’s office, resolutely safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, better leverage Macau’s role in internal connectivity and external communication, expand Macau’s exchanges and cooperation with Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries as well as its neighbouring countries and regions, build Macau into a platform for higher-standard opening up, better serve the nation’s diplomacy and overall development, and continuously advance the steady and sustained implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
Yesterday’s meeting was also attended by the deputy commissioner of the commissioner’s office Cheng Lei, Sam’s chief-of-cabinet Chan Kak, and Government Headquarters Affairs Bureau (DSASG) Director Derek Loi Chi San.
The commissioner’s office is one of the three entities established by the central government based in Macau, alongside the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR and the local garrison of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (right) meets with newly appointed Foreign Ministry Commissioner Bian Lixin at Government Headquarters yesterday. – Photo: GCS
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (centre) and Foreign Ministry Commissioner Bian Lixin (third from left) pose for a group photo with other officials on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting, including Deputy Commissioner Cheng Lei (second from left), Sam’s chief-of-cabinet Chan Kak (third from right), and Government Headquarters Affairs Bureau (DSASG) Director Derek Loi Chi San (second from right). – Photo: GCS
