Greater Bay Area

From the Forum between China and Portugal to the Integration of Macau and Macao: Exploring a New Path of Exchange and Cooperation between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries in Macau

2024-12-13   

The comprehensive building of the China Portuguese Speaking Countries Business Cooperation Service Platform, proposed at the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries (Macao), has been put into use by the South Bay Lake in Macau, becoming a shining symbol of the China Portuguese platform. The national "14th Five Year Plan" clearly supports the cooperation between Guangdong and Macao to jointly build Hengqin, expand the functions of the commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese speaking countries, and create an exchange and cooperation base with Chinese culture as the mainstream and diverse cultures coexisting. Macao has an administrative and legal system similar to Portuguese speaking countries, and has always been committed to promoting bilingual education between China and Portugal, cultivating bilingual talents, and serving as a service platform between China and Portuguese speaking countries. Fully utilizing the mechanism of the Forum Macao "Since its establishment in October 2003, the Forum Macao has undergone two expansions, achieving a" big reunion "between China and all Portuguese speaking countries in the forum and promoting" great cooperation "in a wide range of fields between China and Portuguese speaking countries," said Ji Xianzheng, Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum Macao in a recent interview. The China Portugal Forum was founded in Macao and sponsored by the Chinese government, with the participation of nine Portuguese speaking countries, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal,  Sao Tome and Principe and Timor Leste. Ji Xianzheng believes that the China Portugal Forum is a mutually beneficial and win-win platform. The forum, with language as the link and economic and trade cooperation as the theme, has developed into a model of friendly cooperation between countries of different social systems, cultural backgrounds, development stages, and sizes. It is also a vivid practice to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. Since the establishment of the forum, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese speaking countries has developed smoothly and effectively. Deng Yongxi, Assistant Secretary of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum between China and Portugal and Senior Manager of the Portuguese Language Market Promotion Department, introduced that the Mozambique Agricultural Park Project, in which the China Portugal Cooperation and Development Fund participates, has brought advanced planting and management technologies to Mozambique and trained over 2000 local farmers; The new energy photovoltaic power plant project in Minas Gerais state, Brazil provides clean energy for residents, creates a large number of job opportunities, and promotes the development of upstream industries such as solar panels... In the Portuguese speaking Countries Product Exhibition Center inside the complex building, food, beverages, daily chemical products, and handicrafts from 9 Portuguese speaking countries are displayed. The staff of the Macao Investment Promotion Bureau stated that the center uses nearly 3000 physical exhibits combined with multimedia methods to allow visitors to understand the business environment and product services of Portuguese speaking countries, and to build a communication bridge for Sino Portuguese business negotiations. Data shows that in 2023, the trade volume between China and Portuguese speaking countries will reach 220.9 billion US dollars, which is about 20 times that of the forum at its inception; As of the end of 2023, China's investment stock in Portuguese speaking countries of various types is about 80 billion US dollars, and the completed turnover of contracted projects is about 140 billion US dollars. China Portugal trade meets the development needs of various countries and shows strong resilience. Macao is a model of harmonious coexistence and mutual integration between Eastern and Western civilizations, and also a bridge and link for communication and exchange between China and Portuguese speaking countries. Up to now, Macau has successfully hosted 16 sessions of the China Portuguese Speaking Countries Cultural Week and 6 sessions of the "Meet in Macau - China Portugal Cultural and Art Festival". Thousands of Chinese and foreign artists participated in various activities such as book fairs, traditional song and dance performances, film festivals, and concerts, attracting over 300000 tourists. In 2023, Macau will hold the "China Portuguese Speaking Countries Civilization Mutual Learning Forum" for the first time, aiming to explore the establishment of a normalized mechanism for cultural exchange and civilization mutual learning between China and Portuguese speaking countries, and to leverage Macau's unique advantages in the close historical, cultural, economic and trade ties between China and Portuguese speaking countries. Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Macau and Brazilian sinologist George Sinedino believes that "we should strive to objectively and stereoscopically introduce and promote the essence of Chinese culture to readers using our language." Dai Xianyang, Chairman of the Macau Live Streaming Association, hopes to use new media and new formats to help Macau fully leverage the role of the Sino Portuguese platform: "The live streaming models across the country are very similar, and if Macau wants to break through the encirclement, it must emphasize cultural characteristics." Dai Xianyang introduced that as one of the technical support partners for Portuguese speaking countries' products of the Macau Investment Promotion Bureau, the association's main work is to promote and advertise products and do "online infrastructure" for businesses. There are many agents of products from Portuguese speaking countries in Macau, and we help them explore the mainland market and tell brand stories through live streaming sales. Actively integrating into the national development situation, the fifth Macau SAR government policy summary pointed out that integrating into the national development situation is the rightful meaning of the practice of "one country, two systems" in the new era. The SAR government actively participates in regional and international cooperation, and strengthens cooperation with Portuguese speaking countries by taking advantage of the "the Belt and Road" initiative and the development opportunities of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and Hengqin Guangdong Macao Deep Cooperation Zone. In recent years, Macao has focused on building a "China Portugal Financial Service Platform" to provide diversified investment and financing services for the construction of the "the Belt and Road". It has issued 5.5 billion yuan of "the Belt and Road" themed bonds and 250 million dollars of "China Portugal Platform Construction" themed bonds. In December 2022, Macau, Hengqin, and Zhuhai jointly established the "China Portuguese Speaking Countries Science and Technology Exchange and Cooperation Center" and held multiple scientific and technological innovation activities, including the "Macao Macau Science and Technology Enterprise Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition", to enhance the level of scientific and technological cooperation between China and Portuguese speaking countries. In May 2023, the Hengqin Guangdong Macao Cooperation Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park, jointly established by the Macau SAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government, successfully helped 9 Macau and mainland enterprises register a total of 12 products in Mozambique, of which 9 products obtained market approval and 7 products have entered the Brazilian market. Huang Yin, a "post-90s" entrepreneurial youth in Macao, has companies in Macao and Qinhuangdao, involving the fields of traditional Chinese medicine and Internet medicine. Huang Yin leverages the advantages of the Sino Portuguese platform and relies on the integrated development of Australia and Macao to promote traditional Chinese medicine products and culture to Portuguese speaking countries. In November 2024, the "Qi Qi Portuguese Speaking Countries and Macao Product Specialty Market" held its third event in Hengqin, showcasing over a hundred Portuguese speaking countries and Macao specialty products and cuisine, fully leveraging the role of Hengqin Guangdong Macao Shenzhen Cooperation Zone as an extension of Macao's construction of the Sino Portuguese platform. Associate Professor Francisco Jos é Leandro from the School of Social Sciences at the University of Macau believes that the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and the Hengqin Guangdong Macao Deep Cooperation Zone have expanded the development space of Macau. As a result, Macau's role as a service platform for commercial cooperation between China and Portuguese speaking countries can be fully realized, and its potential can be fully unleashed

Edit:He Chuanning Responsible editor:Su Suiyue

Source:Xinhua

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