Free trade zones expected to open doors

With three new pilot free trade zones in mainland China beginning official operation yesterday, new doors are expected to open to Macau. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, said that Macau needs to carefully consider how to conduct itself cooperatively and how to improve its own laws and systems.
China  has set up new free trade zones in Guangdong, Fujian and Tianjin yesterday, expecting them to boost economic reform, promote trade and facilitate investment in new areas in the hopes of moving the economy away from an unsustainable export-dependent model.
Leong, attending the inauguration in Fujian, told media that the MSAR government would investigate and better understand the respective functions of the pilot zones, and hoped to soon implement cooperative policies following closer communication with the provinces.
“These free trade zones actually have their different functions positioned in the entire national development strategy. We need to consider very carefully what the effects will be when we combine them with Macau, and how to match them with the national strategies such as the ‘Belt and Road Initiatives,’” he explained.
The secretary stressed that “Macau has its own uniqueness in the cooperation with each of those free trade zones, so the most important thing is to complement each of them with [comparative] advantages.” Moreover, he recognized a need to improve Macau’ laws and regulations in order to successfully merge into the development of the pilot zones
The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan, also revealed during the inauguration ceremony in Guangdong that Macau is planning to push for cooperation in a dispute settlement mechanism with Henqin.
As for cooperation with Fujian Province, Lionel Leong revealed that specific projects would cover the fields of finance, trade, tourism, and convention and exhibition. “For example, with regard to jointly developing the tourist attractions along the Maritime Silk Road, all of these have been put on our agenda. In fact, both sides happen to hold the same view, as many of the things we proposed have coincided with their plans,” he said.
Macau’s platform role for the Sino-Luso trade cooperation was also highlighted during a meeting between high-level members of the two territories yesterday. Both sides are expecting their to be able to take advantage of each other’s platform to seek further development.
As Macau has pledged to bring more enterprises and investment to Fujian’s new free trade zone, Fujian’s Governor Su Shulin said the province would mobilize enterprises to encourage development in Macau and serve as a platform to strengthen Macau’s relations with Taiwan. BY