Cooperation | Macau and China sign new trade agreement

Macau and mainland China signed a new agreement on Saturday under the framework of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), signifying the full bilateral enactment of the policy of the Liberalization of Trade in Services.
Under the new agreement, 153 sectors of the mainland economy are now fully or partially open to Macau service providers. This accounts for 95.6 percent of the 160 trade and service sectors recognized and classed as such by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Acting Chief Executive and Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, represented the MSAR at the signing of the latest agreement and at the official ceremony, held after the CEPA High-Level Meeting of the 2015 Steering Committee.
The Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) was initiated in 2004 to promote mutual economic prosperity and development, and to enhance the level of economic and trade cooperation between Macau and mainland China.
The Agreement on Trade in Services states that national treatment will be applied to Macau’s service providers in certain sectors, while the updated list under the CEPA framework adds new areas of cooperation, which would impact Macau’s fledgling conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry.
With the agreement, Macau will have greater opportunities to strengthen its commercial ties in mainland China. The agreement will come into effect on June 1, 2016.