Macau Secretary of the Economy and Finance Lionel Leong has said the city is committed to helping small and medium enterprises in the Portuguese-speaking Countries to gain access to the Chinese market.

A statement issued by the Macau SAR government says Mr Leong was speaking in the neighbouring city of Guangzhou before the opening there of the 12th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Fair.

The statement quotes Mr Leong as telling Governor Yi Lianhong of the southeastern Chinese province of Jiangxi that Macau wishes to use its links to the Portuguese-speaking Countries to help companies in the lusophone world to attract foreign investment and gain access to markets abroad.

Mr Leong and Mr Yi discussed co-operation in the field of Chinese traditional medicine. Mr Leong said the joint Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park had succeeded in sending its products to parts of the Portuguese-speaking world, according to the official statement.