In 2012, shortly after becoming general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Xi Jinping visited Guangdong Province in southern China. One stop on this trip was Hengqin, a place that was not so well-known back then but has since gained much spotlight.<\/p>\n
Hengqin is an island in the city of Zhuhai, adjacent to Macao. Xi urged exploring innovative cooperation models between Hengqin and Macao to contribute to the latter\u2019s long-term prosperity and stability.<\/p>\n
Macao\u2019s development has long been on Xi\u2019s mind. In 2009, then as vice president of China, he visited Macao and announced the plan to develop Hengqin, highlighting its potential to bolster Macao\u2019s economic diversification.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday afternoon, Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived in Macao to attend celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Macao\u2019s return to the motherland. Delivering a brief speech at the airport, Xi called Macao \u201ca pearl on the palm\u201d of the motherland.<\/p>\n
Over the past 25 years, the practice of \u201cone country, two systems\u201d with Macao characteristics has achieved success widely recognized by the world, showcasing great vitality and unique charm, he said.<\/p>\n
The strategic vision Xi outlined for the city\u2019s growth, along with his commitment to improving the livelihoods of the local people, has been pivotal to Macao\u2019s transformation into a thriving economic hub and a desired tourist and leisure destination. Its development has been a success story of \u201cone country, two systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the return from Portuguese rule in 1999, Macao has been governed as a special administrative region (SAR) under the \u201cone country, two systems\u201d policy \u2014 a unique arrangement that allows it to maintain its capitalist system and way of life within socialist China.<\/p>\n
Over the years, Macao\u2019s GDP had grown from 51.9 billion patacas (about 6.23 billion U.S. dollars) in 1999 to 379.5 billion patacas in 2023, while the per capita GDP had more than quadrupled to around 70,000 U.S. dollars. This year, Forbes magazine listed Macao as the second-richest place in the world, trailing only Luxembourg.<\/p>\n
The annual number of visitors to the city has also surged to more than 32 million from 7 million 25 years ago.<\/p>\n
PLANNING MACAO\u2019S DEVELOPMENT<\/p>\n
The Chinese central government has taken into full consideration Macao\u2019s unique position and role, encouraging it to actively integrate into the national development strategy.<\/p>\n
For Hong Kong and Macao, \u201cone country, two systems\u201d is the biggest strength; China\u2019s reform and opening up has set the broadest stage for their development; and the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area present new and significant opportunities, Xi has said.<\/p>\n
The Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, established in 2021 under Xi\u2019s personal planning and guidance, has enabled Macao to develop industries such as high-end manufacturing, traditional Chinese medicine, financial services, and cultural tourism, helping to reduce its overdependence on the gaming sector.<\/p>\n
As of September 2024, the cooperation zone has attracted 6,461 Macao enterprises and 16,539 Macao residents to move in. The deeply-integrated development between Guangdong and Macao is becoming a reality.<\/p>\n
Xi regards the joint development of Hengqin by Zhuhai and Macao as a key component of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area\u2019s growth. As part of this major national strategy, Macao was designated as one of the four central cities in the Greater Bay Area, alongside Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, serving as an engine for regional development. This has provided Macao with new opportunities, motivation, and space for growth.<\/p>\n
Infrastructure construction has gathered speed. On Oct. 23, 2018, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the world\u2019s longest sea-crossing bridge, was opened, with Xi personally announcing its inauguration.<\/p>\n
Over the past six years, the bridge has evolved into a key economic and trade channel and a vital logistics artery in the Greater Bay Area. The annual number of border crossings at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port and the Hengqin Port both exceeded 20 million in 2024, setting new records.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the 25 years since Macao\u2019s return, the motherland has been Macao\u2019s strongest backing for prosperity and stability, and has provided the greatest opportunities for Macao\u2019s development,\u201d said Ho Iat Seng, chief executive of the Macao SAR.<\/p>\n
In July, China unveiled a master plan for furthering its reform, which emphasized leveraging the institutional advantages of \u201cone country, two systems\u201d and improving mechanisms to ensure that Hong Kong and Macao play a better role in the nation\u2019s opening up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has pointed the way for Macao to integrate into Chinese modernization and achieve better development, providing a new historical opportunity,\u201d Xi has said.<\/p>\n
CONNECTING WITH LOCALS<\/p>\n
In the past years, no matter how busy his schedule was, Xi always managed to meet with ordinary local residents during his visits to Macao. He spent time learning about livelihood projects, be it a public housing program, an elderly-care facility or a government service center. \u201cFrom your voices, we can gauge whether Macao is prosperous and developing,\u201d he told the locals.<\/p>\n
Xi has also exchanged letters with people from all walks of life in Macao.<\/p>\n
The \u201cMacao Science 1\u201d satellites, jointly developed by the Chinese mainland and Macao, was successfully launched in May 2023.<\/p>\n
Following the launch, 18 faculty and students from the Macau University of Science and Technology, who participated in the satellites\u2019 development, wrote to Xi to share the exciting news and their experiences in the project. In his reply, Xi encouraged them to actively integrate into and contribute more to the country\u2019s development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe received President Xi\u2019s reply just two days later. It was a tremendous encouragement for us,\u201d said Yin Liang, an assistant researcher with the project. \u201cHe recognized our work and provided guidance for our future efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xi also cares a lot about the thoughts and aspirations of Macao\u2019s youth. In May 2019, students from a Macao middle school wrote a letter to Xi, sharing their understandings of the concept of \u201cmotherland\u201d and expressing their wishes for Xi to visit Macao again.<\/p>\n
After replying to the students, Xi fulfilled his promise by visiting their school in December 2019. He attended a Chinese history open class on campus, and told the students: \u201cAs Chinese, we must understand the history of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
That open class left a deep impression on then 15-year-old Ni Ho Lam. Inspired by that experience, she began incorporating traditional Chinese cultural elements such as dragons and cranes into her works during creative design competitions. Today, she is pursuing her dream of design and art as a student at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.<\/p>\n
During his overseas visits and domestic diplomatic activities, Xi also promoted Macao actively.<\/p>\n
In December 2018, during a state visit to Portugal, Xi emphasized Macao\u2019s unique role in advancing cooperation and exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and in the BRI. In April 2019, while meeting with the president of Portugal, Xi stressed: \u201cMacao has already become a bridge for long-term friendly cooperation between China and Portugal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we give full play to the institutional strengths of \u2018one country, two systems\u2019 and dare to strive and innovate, Macao will surely create a brighter future,\u201d Xi said Wednesday. <\/p>\n
The post Xi Focus: Leading Macao to greater success of \u201cone country, two systems\u201d<\/a> appeared first on KBC<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2012, shortly after becoming general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Xi Jinping visited Guangdong Province in southern China. One stop on this trip was Hengqin, a place that was not so well-known back then but has since gained much spotlight. Hengqin is an island in the city of Zhuhai, adjacent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105684\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}