Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, who travelled to Hainan Province on Wednesday to attend yesterday morning’s plenary session of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026, met with Communist Party of China (CPC) Hainan Provincial Committee Secretary Feng Fei on Wednesday night, according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) yesterday.
The four-day Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026, which began on Tuesday, ends today. Its plenary session was held yesterday morning, when National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a keynote speech.
During his meeting with Feng on Wednesday night, according to yesterday’s GCS statement, Sam said that Macau and Hainan have long maintained strong and constructive interactions, forming a solid foundation for cooperation that continues to deliver tangible results.
Sam said that with the official launch of an island-wide independent customs operation in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) at the end of last year, and the ongoing second-phase development of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Sam said, Macau-Hainan cooperation will certainly be provided with unprecedentedly significant development opportunities during the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan period.
The plan, officially known as 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, covers the period between 2026 and 2030.
Sam suggested that both sides should work together to put the spirit of this year’s “two sessions” into practice, pursuing win-win cooperation and jointly serving the nation’s overall development.
The nation’s two sessions refer to the annual sessions of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
According to the statement, Sam also said that Macau and Hainan are both important gateways for the country’s opening up to the outside world. The Hainan Free Trade Port has made notable achievements in institutional innovation, internationalisation, and improvements in the island’s business environment, while Macau has fully leveraged the advantages of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle in its commitment to build itself into an important bridge for the nation’s high-standard opening up, Sam underlined.
Sam also underlined that his government is proactively aligning with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, pledging that it will ensure the effective drawing-up and implementation of Macau’s third Five-Year Plan, with an emphasis on improving the mechanisms for Macau to better play its role in the country’s opening up to the outside world, building a new regional development landscape enabling Macau to better connecting the Chinese mainland with the rest of the world, playing a better role as the “precise connector” for cooperation between China and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, and helping more enterprises from the Chinese mainland to “go global”.
The Macau government is scheduled to launch a public consultation next month to gather opinions and suggestions from Macau’s civil society concerning its drafting of Macau’s third five-year socioeconomic development plan.
According to the statement, Sam said he expects Macau and Hainan to continue strengthening their coordination and collaboration, deepen their joint efforts, and work together to explore international markets, thereby jointly contributing to the nation’s high-standard opening up.
Sam and members of his delegation returned to Macau yesterday after a two-day visit to the island province.
Wednesday night’s meeting between Sam and Feng, according to yesterday’s statement, was also attended by Hainan Governor Liu Xiaoming and other top officials of the province.
Communist Party of China (CPC) Hainan Provincial Committee Secretary Feng Fei (right) meets with Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai in Boao, Hainan Province on Wednesday night. – Photos: GCS
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (centre), Foreign Ministry Commissioner in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Bian Lixin (left), and Sam’s chief-of-cabinet Chan Kak pose for a photo after attending yesterday morning’s plenary session of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 with the theme “Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities, New Cooperation”. Bian joined Sam’s delegation to Boao as an adviser.
