As China further develops the Belt and Road initiative, Macau’s function as the bridge and link between China and the Lusophone world is sure to become more important, said Liu Xianfa, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region.
Liu made the remark during his opening speech at the Think-tank Forum between China and Lusophone Countries, held yesterday evening.
The Chinese official noted that Macau is a bridge and link between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. “Since its return to the motherland, Macau has given full play to the advantages of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and the uniqueness of its language and cultural backgrounds,” Liu said, noting that Macau meanwhile “actively promoted the construction of ‘one center, one platform and one base.’”
“The economic and trade cooperation between China and the Lusophone world has been continuously deepened and fruitful results have been achieved,” Liu added. “With further deepening and expansion [of policies and work], Macau will surely show greater achievements in the cooperation between China and the Lusophone world.”
“Under the lead of the Global Development and Security Initiatives, the cooperation and development between China and the Lusophone world will surely usher in broader prospects,” the official said, adding that work should be done to proactively deepen cooperation in areas such as trade, infrastructure and cultural exchange.
He pointed out that emphasis should also be put on areas such as the exchange of experience in state governance and administration, new and sophisticated technologies, modern services and digitization, “[so as] to benefit the people of all countries with bigger and better outcomes.”
Macauís role in
bilingualism
At the same forum, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong highlighted Macau’s role in promoting bilingual exchange between Chinese and Portuguese language as well as traditional Chinese medicine to the Lusophone world.
For example, she said, since the inauguration of the Macau SAR, with major support from Beijing, the city has utilized its background as advantageous to becoming the bridge between China and the Lusophone world, especially in establishing the China-Lusophone Economic and Trade Cooperation Service Platform.
Furthermore, she added, the government had been trying to persuade high-school graduates to study Portuguese or even pursue a degree in Portugal. Additionally, the city’s administration has been strengthening its work on the development of Macau as a Chinese-Lusophone bilingual talent training base and a Chinese-Lusophone youth innovation and entrepreneurship exchange center.
Looking to the future, the secretary expects that, with further development of the Greater Bay Area, the concept will be beneficial to the richness of Macau as the link between China and the Lusophone world.
She also expressed the government’s hope that China-Lusophone academic and think-tank exchanges can be further deepened, and that interactions between think tanks in both the Chinese and Lusophone worlds would lead to shared prosperity.
