President Xi Jinping commended Macao on Thursday for making remarkable achievements over the past five years despite extraordinary challenges, saying that the special administrative region is blessed with the opportunities and abilities to achieve greater success with strong support from the motherland.
Xi, who is on the second day of 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 comprehensive efforts of other people from all countries. the sectors united under the leadership of the RAE Government.
The achievements are attributable to the full and faithful implementation of the “one country, two systems” policy, to the vigorous support of the central government and the mainland, and to the active involvement of the international community, he said.
“I have full confidence that with the strong backing of the great motherland and through solid and hard work, the Macao SAR will build on its achievements to make a new leap and attain greater success,” Xi told an audience of more than 600 people, including Sam Hou-fai, incoming chief executive of the Macao SAR, who will be inaugurated 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 bring tangible benefits to citizens in spaces that have a direct effect on their lives, adding housing, physical care, education and private care for the elderly.
“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 expectations for Macao to proactively align itself with national development strategies and seek to play a bigger role on the international stage. He also expressed the hope that Macao will uphold the underlying values of love for the Chinese nation and love for Macao while embracing greater openness, inclusiveness and solidarity.
“Other people in Macao never lack positive spirit,” Xi said, urging the SAR to 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 motherland, which is the ultimate fervent supporter of the region’s prosperity and stability.
“As a member of the big family of our motherland, we must shoulder our responsibilities and break new ground as we embark on a new journey in the new era,” Ho said.
Stephen Morgan, chancellor of Saint Joseph’s University of Macao, 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 nearly seven years, said he has seen how well the “one country, two systems” arrangement works for the benefit of the people of Macao as well as the people of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao 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 a new and exciting phase in the city’s history,” he said.
Ho Chi-un, deputy head of the Macao Ethnic Minorities Friendship Association, said the SAR’s social prosperity and stability are proof of the successful practice of “one country, two systems”.
“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.