The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, meets with the Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mr Chen Jining, and Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Gong Zheng.
The Chief Executive, Mr Sam Hou Fai, today met with the Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mr Chen Jining. The two sides exchanged views on how to deepen practical cooperation in key sectors and advance regional synergy.
Mr Sam expressed hope for Shanghai’s strong support in encouraging its local technology enterprises to explore business opportunities in Macao, for mutual development of both sides.
Today’s meeting was held in Shanghai. The Chief Executive has since 16 August been leading a Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government delegation on a five-day inspection and research tour, which is due to conclude on 20 August. It is to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, Shanghai Municipality, and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province.
During the meeting, Mr Sam expressed gratitude to the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, for their consistent emphasis on Shanghai-Macao collaboration, and their active support for Macao’s successful implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle, which has continuously driven new developments.
Shanghai-Macao relations have always been close, with cooperation expanding in both scope and depth, noted Mr Sam. Over the years, achievements in finance, technology innovation, cultural tourism, exhibitions, youth exchanges, and education have laid a solid foundation for further cooperation. The recent signing of multiple agreements in Macao marked a new phase in strategic collaboration between the two places。.
The Chief Executive highlighted the growing maturity of practical collaboration between the two cities, including joint research projects in science and technology, cross-boundary financial cooperation, talent cultivation through shared educational resources, and an increase of tourism between the two places. Mr Sam proposed exploring “multi-destination” tourism packages for international markets, and strengthening synergy in the exhibition industry, in order jointly to develop premium brands.
Shanghai-Macao cooperation should focus on joint development in high-tech industries, said Mr Sam, with a view to fostering deeper exchanges between enterprises and academic institutions, and advancing projects that integrate industry, academia, and research, in a bid to drive technological breakthroughs in Macao, and unlock new opportunities for Shanghai’s tech sector.
Shanghai, as a core city in the Yangtze River Delta, and Macao – as a core city of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area – are two places that hold distinct advantages within their respective locales, and are each tasked with the mission of promoting development of high-tech and new-tech industires. , said Mr Sam.
In accordance with the major tasks assigned by the Central Government, Shanghai is accelerating the development of the “five centres”, noted the Chief Executive. Meanwhile, Macao is actively implementing the directives from President Xi Jinping’s important speech during his inspection of Macao, striving to advance the “1+4” economic diversification strategy, and development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. As Macao and Shanghai each integrate into national development strategies, they are presented with expanded opportunities for growth.
Building on this foundation, Shanghai and Macao should jointly explore collaborative projects – with complementary benefits – that link Shanghai’s “five centres” goals, and Macao’s “1+4” strategies. Such synergies would inject greater momentum into cooperative development for enterprises from both sides, offering vast prospects for investment in Macao, said Mr Sam.
Members of the MSAR delegation participating in the meeting included: the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tai Kin Ip; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Chan Kak; and the President of the Administrative Committee of the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Che Weng Keong.
Officials representing the Shanghai authorities that were present at the meeting included: Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Gong Zheng; member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mr Hua Yuan; Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Ms Xie Dong; and the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Ms Ma Yinghui.
Prior to the meeting, Mr Sam visited the “Mosu Space”, a large-scale model innovation-based ecological community in Shanghai, to learn about its development as a specialised incubation and acceleration platform for artificial intelligence (AI) large models, as well as to learn about Shanghai’s strengths in the AI sector.
The delegation will depart for Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on Tuesday (19 August).
