MACAO – Ho Iat-seng, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), said Friday that the SAR government would advance work for building the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin in a pragmatic and orderly manner.
The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on Sunday made public a general plan for building the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin. Hengqin is an area located in the southern part of Zhuhai city in Guangdong province, just across Macao.
Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said the building of the cooperation zone in Hengqin is "a major move to promote Macao's better integration into overall national development"
Speaking at a press conference, Ho said that the building of the cooperation zone was of great significance to promoting Macao's appropriate economic diversification, facilitating Macao residents' living and working in Hengqin, pushing for the quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and enriching the practice of "one country, two systems."
"It is also a major move to promote Macao's better integration into overall national development," he told reporters.
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Ho said the Macao SAR government had been in close contact with the Guangdong provincial government and the Zhuhai municipal government to seek quality development of the cooperation zone in Hengqin.
The governments reached agreement on the institutional structure in the cooperation zone following talks, Ho said, adding that the SAR government has appointed young, capable civil servants to the cooperation zone's executive body.
Ho said the Macao SAR government will thoroughly study the plan and make arrangements for its future work accordingly.
The SAR government will pool together resources to help various sectors in Macao to capitalize the favorable policies made by the central authorities, boosting Macao's appropriate economic diversification, Ho said.
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He also promised that the SAR government would create a living environment in Hengqin similar to Macao that is agreeable for either dwelling or working, just as the plan requires, so as to expand Macao residents' quality living space.
The SAR government will also seek innovations in improving the mechanism of extensive consultation, joint construction, joint management and shared benefits between Guangdong and Macao, promoting new practices and trials for the principle of "one country, two systems," added Ho.