Secretary Leong highlights economic opportunities with Guangxi, Sichuan

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong was in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last week to meet with officials from the region and their counterparts from Sichuan province, in a bid to bolster economic cooperation.
During a meeting with Lu Xinshe, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee, Leong proposed that Guangxi and Macau could broaden their cooperation in fields such as traditional Chinese medicine and specialized financial services. The secretary said that these areas in particular could complement Guangxi’s efforts in economic reform and play into Macau’s strengths in helping extend overseas connections.
On his part, Lu said he believed Macau-Guangxi ties would be extended and that each would play a larger role in the others’ development. The mainland official spoke highly of Macau’s engagement in regional cooperation and especially of the expertise it shared in sectors such as tourism, healthcare, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), and the creative and cultural industries.
In a separate meeting with the Governor of Sichuan Province, Yin Li, Leong said Sichuan-Macau cooperation would encourage both sides’ participation in the “Belt and Road” initiative, and would also create opportunities regarding investment and trade. Leong said this would also contribute to Macau’s efforts to diversify its economy away from its reliance on casinos.
Leong also suggested that Macau could utilize its close links with Portuguese- speaking countries in order to bridge trade and investment between these countries and provinces in mainland China.
He said that an example of Macau’s role as a facilitator was a traditional Chinese medicine production company that had completed registration of a product in Mozambique with assistance from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation between Guangdong and Macau.
Leong led the government delegation to Nanning in Guangxi for the 2019 Pan- Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation Chief Executive Joint Conference.
Launched in 2004, the Joint Conference is a platform for regional cooperation between the nine provinces (Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan) and the two special administrative regions (Macau and Hong Kong), collectively known as the “9+2.”
Macau’s delegation included the deputy director of the Government Information Bureau, Wong Lok I; the deputy director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, Lin Yuan; and the deputy director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Isabel Lam. DB