CEPA | Two new agreements to integrate Macau further with national development

Two new agreements, both under the framework of the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), were signed yesterday with the aim of “advancing integration of Macau’s development with that of the country as a whole,” an official note reads.

The two agreements, which came into force upon signing, are part of a special economic and trade cooperation framework under the “One country, two systems” principle, and were designed in accordance with regulations set out by the World Trade Organization.

The “Investment Agreement” and the “Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation” were both signed this morning at Government Headquarters by Vice-Minister of Commerce, Gao Yan, and Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong.

The signing ceremony was held after a meeting of the 2017 CEPA Joint Steering Committee. During the meeting, Vice-Minister Gao said the two new agreements highlighted the Central Government’s support for Macau in the development of its economy, adding that such agreements “would help to support the city’s long-term sustainability.”

According to Gao, trade in goods has achieved full liberalization while trade in services has almost achieved liberalization under the Mainland-Macau CEPA framework.

Secretary Leong stated that the new agreements expanded cooperation opportunities in trade between the mainland and Macau. “The SAR Government would step up efforts to promote the two new agreements, in order to enable Macau businesses to have a better understanding of the latest agreements, and to make better use of CEPA’s preferential measures,” he noted.

CEPA was initiated in 2004.