State agency pledges to promote SAR-Hengqin collaboration

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng

China’s National Development and Reform Commission has pledged to press ahead with work relating to the joint development of Macau and Hengqin, in a bid to introduce new dynamics into the city’s long-term development.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng met with the chairman of the commission, He Lifeng during his six-day visit to Beijing, which ended yesterday.
During the meeting, He commended Ho for Macau’s ability to contain the spread of Covid-19, and the special measures offered by the government under his leadership, including offering financial support to local residents and helping businesses gradually resume operations.
In a separate meeting, Ho met with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council.
The Party Secretary of the CPC Committee of the SASAC, Hao Peng, and the Macau Chief Executive exchanged views on how stated-owned enterprises (SOEs) – in particular centrally administered SOEs – are supporting the SAR’s economic development.
They also discussed the role such enterprises could play in contributing to Macau’s effort to advance the establishment of the Intensive Cooperation Zone between Macau and Guandong.
The Chief Executive mentioned that Macau has been “stepping up its effort to make progress on strategies” regarding the promotion of the city’s adequate economic diversification, and the advancement of the Intensive Cooperation Zone. He added that Macau was looking forward to additional assistance from the SASAC regarding promotion of the city’s traditional Chinese medicine sector, and the development of infrastructure projects.
Hao pledged SASAC’s commitment to ensuring sufficient supply of healthcare and medical materials to the city.
The official added that SASAC could make internship opportunities available within its organization for young people from Macau.
Hao further pledged that the two sides could work more closely to strengthen cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries.