Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai has met with Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhuhai Municipal Committee Secretary Chen Yong at Government Headquarters in Macau where they exchanged views on further strengthening Macau-Zhuhai cooperation, with a stronger emphasis on continuously boosting the integrated development between Macau and Hengqin.
The Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) announced the meeting, held on Thursday, in a statement late that night.
The 106-square-kilometre island of Hengqin in Zhuhai City is officially known as Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, following its inauguration in September 2021. The adjacent island is three times the size of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
During the meeting, the statement said, Sam expressed gratitude to the CPC Zhuhai Municipal Committee and the Zhuhai Municipal People’s Government for their long-standing full support for the development of the MSAR and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
Sam noted that the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, which was passed by the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing last month, outlines the country’s important plans and deployments for Macau’s better integration into the nation’s overall development.
The plan, officially known as 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, covers the period between 2026 and 2030.
Sam noted that the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan also outlines the country’s policy to deepen Macau-Hengqin integrated development.
According to the statement, Sam underlined that this year is a crucial year for the in-depth cooperation zone’s second-phase development. The MSAR government, Sam said, will fully put into practice the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s various important speeches and instructions, align with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, and ensure the effective drawing-up and implementation of Macau’s 3rd Five-Year Plan. Sam said that advancing Hengqin’s development with stronger integration with Macau will be an important component of Macau’s 3rd Five-Year Plan.
Moreover, the statement said, Sam also stressed his government’s commitment to launching landmark projects with driving effects in Hengqin, including ensuring the development of its Macau-Hengqin International Education (University) Town project, which aims to expand the development space for Macau higher education institutions. Sam also said that his government will accelerate its study on the necessary alignment of rules that will fully enable Macau higher education institutions to operate in the future university town in Hengqin.
According to the statement, Sam said he expects Macau and Zhuhai to continue leveraging their geographical advantages of being located next to each other so as to promote more synergistic development, pledging that the MSAR government will firmly deepen pragmatic cooperation with Zhuhai across multiple areas, and work together with the adjacent city to advance Hengqin’s development, thereby continuously raising bilateral cooperation to new heights and making greater contributions to the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
According to the statement, Chen pledged during his meeting with Sam that Zhuhai will thoroughly put into practice the spirit of Xi’s various important speeches and instructions concerning the development of Guangdong, Zhuhai and Hengqin, while fully supporting and serving the in-depth cooperation zone’s second-phase development.
Chen underlined that Zhuhai will work with Macau to advance the alignment of rules and mechanisms and to promote market integration in the GBA. Chen also called for both sides to develop a joint initiative to attract investments based on a model of “Macau channels + headquarters in Hengqin + manufacturing in Zhuhai”.
The in-depth cooperation zone’s governance consists of a management committee and an executive committee.
The management committee is the zone’s top decision-making body run under a dual director system, jointly led by the governor of Guangdong Province and the chief executive of the MSAR. The zone’s executive committee, which is run under the management committee, is the body tasked with the zone’s daily functioning and execution of tasks.
Chen is one of the five deputy directors of the zone’s management committee.
Chen is also the secretary of the Hengqin Working Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (right) meets with Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhuhai Municipal Committee Secretary Chen Yong at Government Headquarters on Thursday. – Photo: GCS
