A package comprising 19 new measures for the upcoming three years aiming to boost and further the cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries was announced yesterday. The announcement was made during the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum for the Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries by the Premier of China, Li Keqiang.
The measures, divided into five chapters, address very diverse areas such as financial support in order to promote industrialization, infrastructures, agricultural and medical projects. They also address cooperation projects related with education, marine cooperation and the promotion of Macau as an interlinking platform.
Among the most highlighted measures, LI announced aid and preferential loans worth RMB4 billion to be used by the Asian and African Portuguese-speaking countries participating in the Forum to promote industry and infrastructure development. The sum is also allocated to provide assistance for livelihood projects such as agricultural development, trade and investment facilitation and medical research, prevention and treatment, predominately of malaria.
Also on financial support measures, the same countries will enjoy a write off of RMB500 million of due interest-free loans.
More directly related with the roles of Macau are the measures related to education and training with the offer of 2,000 training opportunities to trainees from the Portuguese-speaking countries, along with 2,500 scholarships.
The establishment in the region of the so-called Macau Chinese-Portuguese bilingual talent training base is another education based goal that the measures will seek to support.
In addition to the bilingual training center, the creation of a Macau-based Association of Enterprise Directors of China and Portuguese-speaking countries, a Center for Cultural Exchanges and the Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center between China and Portuguese-speaking countries were announced.
The measure package is only complete with the establishing in the territory of a Complex of Commerce and Trade Cooperation Platform to provide support in areas of trade, investment, convention and exhibitions and culture.
Although not highlighted it was announced on Monday, in tandem with the new package of measures that China also has a plan for Macau to become a center for the Chinese Yuan settlement.
The arrangement will transform the financial sector into a clearinghouse for investment deals with countries like Angola, Brazil and Mozambique.
The measures seem to be related with the recent entry of the Chinese currency into the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights, alongside the dollar, euro, pound and the yen.
Debt risk controllable, growth goal in reach
Premier Li Keqiang said China’s debt risks are generally controllable and that he’s confident it can achieve its economic goals this year with growth in a reasonable range.
The economy has exceeded expectation and is looking more positive in the third quarter, though it still faces downward pressure, Li said in remarks before a conference in Macau. The country will lower its relatively high leverage ratio in the non-finance sector, Li said a day after several agencies released plans to tackle excessive debt. He added that he’s confident that no systemic financial risk will occur.
“Growth momentum in the first half continued into the third quarter, with some positive signs,” Li said. “There’s been some discussion of risks related to China’s debt problem and property market. I think we should take an objective, comprehensive attitude toward the issue. China’s debt risks are generally in control.”
Speaking at the opening of yesterday’s Ministerial Conference in Macau, Li projected confidence in the world’s second-largest economy before the Oct. 19 release of the third-quarter gross domestic product data. Growth continued to hold up with a third straight 6.7 percent quarterly expansion, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Other recent data showed manufacturing at the best level in almost two years while new credit, industrial output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales have also picked up. MDT/Bloomberg
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