President Xi Jinping on Thursday congratulated Macao for its remarkable achievements over the past five years despite usual challenges, saying the special administrative region has the opportunities and functions to achieve greater successes with the motherland’s strengths.
Xi, who is on his third stop in the region as Chinese president, said at a welcome banquet that Macao’s progress is the result of the hard work and efforts of other people from all sectors. united under the direction of the RAE Government.
These achievements are attributable to the full and faithful implementation of the “one country, two systems” policy, the vigorous central and continental government, as well as the active participation of the foreign community, he said.
“I am fully convinced that with the strength of the wonderful motherland and through hard and forged work, the Macao SAR will take advantage of its achievements to make a new leap and achieve more wonderful successes,” Xi said in front of an audience of more than six hundred people, to which Sam Hou-fai was added. the new director general of the Macau SAR, who will take office on Friday.
Noting that the past five years have been ordinary in Macao’s history of progress, given the global transformation and the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said other people from all sectors of Macao have risen to the challenge. challenges , deployed results-oriented efforts, ensured a solid economic recovery and made progress in all areas.
Last year, driven by the recovery in tourism, Macau’s economy grew by 80. 5% year-on-year. In the first three quarters of this year, Macau’s GDP grew by 11. 5% year-on-year to MOP 301 billion ($38 billion). to the knowledge of the Macau Statistics and Census Service.
Highlighting the SAR’s new progress in economic diversification, Xi said the region now enjoys a stronger foundation for economic cooperation and its foreign influence has particularly increased.
Xi praised the SAR government for taking concrete steps to deliver tangible benefits to residents in areas that directly impact their lives, including housing, healthcare, education and elderly care.
“Thanks to increased public welfare and the advancement of social projects at all levels, Macau today has a charming and supportive position to live and work,” he said.
Xi expressed his hope that Macao will proactively align itself with the methods of national progress and seek to play a greater role in the foreign sphere. He also expressed his hope that Macao will uphold the underlying values of love for the Chinese country and love for Macao while showing greater openness. , inclusion and solidarity.
“Other Macauers never lack a positive spirit,” he said Mr. Xi suggested that the SAR show greater determination and courage in reform and innovation.
Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said in his welcome speech that Macao has been the apple of the eye of the motherland, which is the most powerful defender of the region’s prosperity and stability.
“As a member of our homeland’s extended family, we will have to take on our daily work and innovate as we embark on a new adventure in a new era,” Ho said.
Stephen Morgan, rector of Macau’s Saint Joseph University, who attended the banquet, said President Xi’s visit to Macao on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his return to the motherland brings maximum visibility to the region. national and international.
Morgan, who has lived in the city for about seven years, said he has observed how the “one country, two systems” agreement works to gain advantages for the rest of Macau’s residents, as well as the other people in the Guangdong-Hong region. Kong-Macau Region. Greater Bay Area.
“I hope that President Xi’s visit to Macao and the inauguration of the sixth term of the Macao SAR government will mark an exciting new phase in the city’s history,” he said.
Ho Chi-un, deputy director of the Macao Ethnic Minority Friendship Association, said the SAR’s prosperity and social stability are proof of the success of practicing the “one country, two systems” principle.
“It is believed that in the days to come, Macao will usher in a brighter future within the embrace of our motherland, and write a new chapter in the successful implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ with Macao characteristics,” Ho Chi-un wrote in an opinion published on Thursday in a local newspaper.
After the welcome banquet, Xi attended a gala to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland at the East Asian Games Dome in Macao.
mojingxi@chinadaily. com. cn