Macau told to capiltalize on ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunities in 15th Five-Year Plan

The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macau has called on the city to fully align with the national 15th Five-Year Plan, stressing that Macau stands at a once-in-a-generation crossroads to diversify its economy and deepen integration with mainland China.

The Liaison Office held the briefing on the afternoon of March 13 to convey the spirit of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, commonly known as the “Two Sessions.”

Attendees included Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, former Chief Executives Ho Iat Seng, Fernando Chui Sai On, and Edmund Ho, Legislative Assembly president Chui Sai Cheong, principal officials of the Macau SAR government, Macau deputies to the NPC, Macau members of the CPPCC National Committee, and representatives from all sectors of society, totaling about 270 people.

Also present were Bian Lixin, new commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Macau, and deputy directors Lu Yuyin and Zhang Yingjie.

Liaison Office director Zheng Xincong presided over the session.

Three-point directive from Zheng

Zheng emphasized that this year marks the start of both the national “15th Five-Year Plan” and Macau’s “Third Five-Year Development Plan,” meaning that “the nation’s development has entered a new phase, providing Macau with unprecedented strategic opportunities.”

He set out three overarching points on how Macau should implement the “Two Sessions” spirit.

These points centered on confidence in national development, understanding Macau’s strategic role, and, finally, the need to translate policy into concrete action.

Zheng urged Macau to “deeply recognize the hard-won development achievements and the stable security situation, and be even more determined in our confidence and determination to achieve high-quality development.”

He said that despite complex domestic and international changes, the CPC Central Committee, with President Xi Jinping at its core, had united the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups to complete the main economic and social development goals of the 14th Five-Year Plan, calling the results “a remarkable report card.”

Zheng said the key to studying and implementing the Two Sessions spirit lies in “studying new situations, solving new problems, and generating more good experiences,” and proposed five specific tasks for Macau.

These tasks include: aligning with the national “15th Five-Year Plan” and building social consensus around Macau’s own “Third Five-Year Plan”; upholding and improving executive-led governance and enhancing the SAR’s governance efficiency; steadily promoting moderate economic diversification and advancing the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin; safeguarding national security and social stability; and strengthening patriotic and Macau-loving forces under the ‘One country, two systems’ principle.

Call for unity and ‘One country, two systems’

Zheng emphasized that implementing the Two Sessions spirit requires “all sectors of Macau society to fulfill their responsibilities and work together.”

He called on representatives and officials to “take the lead in studying and accurately grasping the core essence of the NPC and CPPCC spirit,” to unite and lead wider society, and to carry out various forms of learning and publicity activities.

He also underscored the importance of supporting the Chief Executive and the SAR government in governing according to law, promoting the implementation of the central government’s decisions and plans in Macau, and “continuously writing new chapters in the successful practice of ‘One country, two systems’ with Macau characteristics.”

Chui Sai Cheong on CPPCC message

Chui Sai Cheong, speaking on behalf of the Macau members of the CPPCC National Committee, outlined the key messages from the 14th CPPCC’s fourth session, which ran from March 4 to March 11 in Beijing.

Chui said that the CPPCC session underlined 2026 as both the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China and the opening year of the “15th Five-Year Plan,” and that the committee called for broader unity and collaboration to turn the national blueprint into reality.

He also relayed that central leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, had repeatedly urged Hong Kong and Macau to use the “15th Five-Year Plan” window to “seize unprecedented opportunities” while strengthening patriotic forces and deepening integration into the national development landscape.

He added that the Macau members of the CPPCC National Committee had submitted 112 proposals touching on Macau’s economic diversification, its role in the Greater Bay Area and the Hengqin–Macau Cooperation Zone, innovation-driven growth, and had been asked by central leaders to “anchor on the national plan” and to “play Macau’s unique role” in the broader project of Chinese modernization.

CE urges national alignmen

Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai called for Macau to swiftly translate national directives into action by closely aligning the SAR’s Third Five-Year Plan with China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, emphasizing economic diversification and national security as top priorities.

Sam said the government would “proactively and closely connect with the national 15th Five-Year Plan’s design and implementation” while scientifically drafting and executing Macau’s own third plan.

The CE outlined focus areas including upholding national security, boosting governance efficiency, advancing education-science-talent integration, accelerating Hengqin cooperation, and optimizing industrial structures.

He also noted the government last year completed preliminary research on 36 areas, established a dedicated task force, and finished overall coordination ‘for its scientific formulation,’ with drafting now underway alongside public consultations.

On economic diversification, he pushed for promoting Macau’s strengths in finance, trade, culture, and tourism; accelerating Hengqin cooperation; fostering high-end talent and modern industries; and leveraging Greater Bay Area synergies to realize “one center, one platform, one base” under national core interests.

Edmund Ho calls on Macau to ride national development wave

Former Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah urged Macau to look beyond the SAR’s borders and align with China’s global rise, warning that missing the national “development express train” risks economic obsolescence.

Speaking at Friday’s Liaison Office meeting, Ho, a key architect of Macau’s post-handover boom, pinpointed “high-quality development,” defined by “new quality productive forces and high-speed development.” He urged the SAR government, in crafting its “third Five-Year Plan,” to scientifically gauge moderate economic diversification and nurture competitive industries leveraging Macau’s strengths.

The first Chief Executive of the Macau SAR cautioned against parochialism and advised Macau to envision “what kind of country” China will become in the coming decades. “Don’t just place it in this small place of Macau or think only about the local environment,” Ho said.

“Macau must see what the world situation is; mainly, after 12 years, after 16 years, what kind of country it will be,” Ho added.

He urged Macau to introduce appropriate new productive forces, bolster education and talent, and realign social and industrial structures with national trajectories – even if it takes “one or two generations.”

“Look at which industries in our economy and society are necessary, which industries have vital competitiveness that can integrate with the country’s development.”

Calling on Macau, Ho said, “I hope that in Macau today we pursue scientific development, not purely engage in some non-national industries,” he said. “We must think long-term, definitely long-term.”

Warning, “If not, it’s very likely some of our resources will be wasted, national assets possibly lost because conditions are lacking.”

He invoked Xi Jinping’s 2019 Macau visit and noted that national support hinges on alignment. “As long as thoughts and methods don’t fit the country, there will be no support.”

He concluded, “The whole national development will not wait for you.” NS