Zhuhai determined to play bigger role in regional cooperation

The Mayor of Zhuhai, Yao Yisheng (right) and other officials pictured at a reception for the event

Zhuhai is willing to shoulder more responsibilities and play a bigger role in the Mayors’ Visiting Program, according to the Mayor of Zhuhai, Yao Yisheng, during the Welcome Reception of the Fourth round Mayors’ Visiting Program last Friday.

“Zhuhai has pledged to act on the instruction to leverage the advantage of the Zhuhai-Macau cooperation, so as to better serve the trilateral cooperation among mainland cities, Macau and neighboring countries. Zhuhai will make continued efforts to assist Macau in integrating into the national development, maintaining long-term stability and prosperity, and jointly participating the Belt and Road initiative,” said Yao.

In Yao’s words, the Mayors’ Visiting Program is becoming “more and more meaningful,” as the report of the 19th CPC National Congress released last October announced that China will “never close its door and it will only open wider and wider.”

“The Mayors’ Visiting Program is a response to the call of openness in the new era and an important step to implement the spirit of Xi’s speech so as to accelerate the Belt and Road initiative and open the door wider to the world,” said Yao, who believes that the Mayors’ Visiting Program is becoming more and more influential.

“Mainland cities attending the event, Hangzhou, Harbin, Xiamen, Sanya and Yangzhou, all feature developed economies, beautiful environments and unique advantages, making good complementarities [partners] and enjoying broad prospects of cooperation with Macau and neighboring countries in various fields,” said Yao.

The Zhuhai Mayor remarked that China has entered into a new era by upgrading all of its infrastructure on the mainland.

“With the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area shaping up and the bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai opening to traffic, we are facing greater opportunities for cooperation,” said Yao.

Regarding the “Mayors’ Visiting Program,” Yao believes that it has “vigorously promoted connectivity in policy, infrastructure construction, trade, capital and people-to-people exchanges, setting an example for regional win- win cooperation.” 

‘Mayors’ visiting program’ concludes

THE FOURTH edition of the “Mayors’ Visiting Program” involved civic leaders from 14 neighboring countries – Laos, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Russia, Brunei and the Philippines – and from six cities on the mainland. The Program was co-organized by the local government and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the MSAR. It took place in Macau from April 19 to 21, and involved meetings with several local departments, including the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Trade and Investment Promotion Institute.