Foreign Consuls General Visit Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Zone

Commissioner Liu Xianfa

In celebration of the third anniversary of the establishment of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the SAR organized a visit for 23 foreign consuls general and representatives from Macau and Hong Kong to Hengqin May 26 to May 27.

The delegation, led by Liu Xianfa, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, toured the Hengqin Exhibition Hall, second-tier inspection area of the customs arrangements, and cross-border e-commerce and live broadcast base. They learned about the zone’s overall planning, convenient customs clearance process, and thriving cross-border e-commerce sector.

Liu noted that in the past three years, Hengqin’s economic aggregate has grown nearly 4% annually, with industrial development becoming increasingly prosperous. In Q1 2024, Hengqin’s GDP reached RMB1.21 billion yuan, up 1.2% year-on-year.

The official highlighted Hengqin’s closed-off management model that facilitates the entry and exit of people, enabling “scientific research in Macau and transformation in Hengqin” and “living in Macau and working in Hengqin.”

He expressed hope that the visiting consuls would gain a deeper understanding of Hengqin’s industrial policies, legal system, and business environment, and help promote more visa facilitation measures for foreigners to visit the cooperation zone.

Many consuls remarked that the trip gave them a deeper understanding of Hengqin’s development, noting its preferential tax policies, complete infrastructure, and strong potential in cross-border e-commerce, high-tech, and cultural tourism. Howard Tong