The master plan for the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone on Hengqin Island, which abuts Macao, has been approved at the highest levels of the ruling party and government of China, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese state-run news agency says the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council gave their approval last Sunday.

The Macao SAR Government released the master plan for the zone, which will occupy 106 square km of Hengqin, the report says.

It says the zone will nurture businesses in fields such as finance, meetings and exhibitions, and scientific and technological research and development, all to make the economy of Macao more diverse in the long run.

The report says the plan calls for an international trading centre on Hengqin and for the provision there of financial services, including cross-border settlement in renminbi, serving China and the Portuguese-speaking world.

Also envisaged in the plan are arrangements for scientific research and innovation in the zone, including accommodation for the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Young Entrepreneur and Innovation Base.