The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, exchanged views on Saturday (9 January) with officials in Foshan, Guangdong Province, regarding how Macao and Foshan could contribute jointly to advancing the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area).

Mr Ho was on the second day of his tour to Guangdong cities that help to make up the Greater Bay Area. On Friday (8 January), the Macao delegation had travelled to Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.

In Foshan, the Macao delegation visited a pharmaceutical company. There, the Chief Executive was briefed about manufacturing procedures for Chinese patent medicine drink powders, the formulation of the products and the quality inspection processes. The delegation also paid a visit to Foshan Lingnan Tiandi, to gain a better understanding of that community regeneration project and its operation model, involving the arts and commercial elements. The delegation additionally visited a Foshan, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan youth entrepreneur base, to garner more information about young people starting businesses.

Later, the Chief Executive met with Deputy Secretary of the Foshan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Secretary of the CPC Shunde District Committee, Mr Guo Wenhai, to exchange views on culture, tourism, scientific technology and traditional Chinese medicine.

During the meeting, Mr Ho proposed a number of routes to deepen bilateral ties. The two sides could bolster exchanges in the field of gastronomy, as Macao and Shunde in Foshan – as well as Chengdu in Sichuan Province – had respectively been designated a City of Gastronomy under UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. The Chief Executive also shared his insights on how to strengthen tourism cooperation, noting there was high potential for collaboration in the field of tourism offerings stemming from old-district regeneration. Mr Ho additionally spoke about how to boost investment cooperation in the science and technology sector, noting that Foshan had capabilities in relation to development of microchips.

The Chief Executive went on to say that he envisioned bright prospects for Macao and Foshan in terms of cooperation on traditional Chinese medicine. Mr Ho noted a number of well-known companies had set up base in Foshan. Macao for its part, had a State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, as well as the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation between Guangdong and Macao.

Mr Guo gave a briefing on the latest developments in Foshan, a place renowned as a manufacturing city. He noted that Foshan’s economy had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the situation had improved slightly in the second half of 2020.

Foshan was a city with profound ties to Guangdong’s Lingnan culture, as well as being a City of Gastronomy under UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. Mr Guo said that Foshan and Macao had much room for cooperation. The two places should maintain close contact, in order to elevate cooperation regarding their joint contribution to the advancement and development of the Greater Bay Area.

Members of the Macao delegation visited Foshans included: the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Lei Wai Nong; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms Hoi Lai Fong; the Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Ms Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; the Director of the Macao Economic Bureau, Mr Tai Kin Ip; the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Ms Lei Ut Mui; the President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Lau Wai Meng; and the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Ms Chan Lou.