On September 27, Secretary-General Ji Xianzheng of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, together with key members of the Permanent Secretariat, received Vice-Governor Zhao Haishan of Hubei Province and his delegation. The two sides had talks on leveraging Macao’s role as a platform, strengthening ties between Hubei and Portuguese-speaking countries, and further enhancing economic and trade cooperation between Hubei, Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Vice-Governor Zhao Haishan introduced the socio-economic conditions of Hubei and its economic and trade cooperation and exchanges with Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries. He pointed out that the economy in Hubei is gaining momentum, and that Hubei has comparative advantages in such areas as geographical location, agricultural and industrial infrastructure, scientific research talent and innovation capacity, and enjoys close economic, trade and cultural exchanges with Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries. Zhao also expressed his hope that, on this basis, Hubei will make full use of its power and further promote economic and trade cooperation with Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries. A number of suggestions were made, including holding investment promotion seminars on Portuguese-speaking countries in Wuhan, creating a cooperation mechanism between Hubei, Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries, and establishing an exhibition center in Wuhan for products from Portuguese-speaking countries.

Secretary-General Ji Xianzheng welcomed the delegation and introduced the basic information about Forum Macao and the recent focus of the Permanent Secretariat. Hubei has maintained good economic and trade relations with Portuguese-speaking countries. He hoped that at this occasion the two sides will strive to jointly implement the consensus reached at the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of Forum Macao held in April 2022, leverage Macao’s role as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, strengthen their exchanges and cooperation, and make new contributions to economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Delegates of Portuguese-speaking countries to Forum Macao also made remarks and expressed their opinions on boosting exchanges and cooperation between their respective countries and Hubei.

The meeting was attended by the following individuals from the Hubei Provincial People’s Government: Deputy Secretary-General Zhao Jun; Head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Zhang Xiaomei; Head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Wu Jing; Vice-Mayor of the Wuhan Municipal Government, Dang Zhen; Deputy Director-General of the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province, Yu Xuewu; and Deputy Head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Chen Hanhua. Also present at the meeting were the following individuals from the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao: Deputy Secretaries-General Ding Tian, Paulo Jorge Rodrigues do Espírito Santo, and Casimiro de Jesus Pinto; Coordinator of the Executive Office, Li Xiaohui; Coordinator of the Liaison Office and Representative of Cabo Verde, Nuno Miguel Melo Furtado; Coordinator of the Support Office, Teresa Mok; Representative of Angola, Agostinho João António dos Santos; Representative of Guinea-Bissau, Abdú Jaquité; Representative of Mozambique, Francisca Torcida Reino; Representative of Portugal, Maria João Bonifácio; and Representative of Timor-Leste, Danilo Henriques.

On the afternoon of the same day, Secretary-General Ji Xianzheng, together with key members of the Permanent Secretariat, was invited to the “Two-Way Empowerment for Win-Win Cooperation — 2022 Hubei-Macao Cross-Border Financing Conference”. During the conference, Secretary-General Ji Xianzheng delivered a speech and witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between enterprises in Hubei and Macao.

In his speech, Secretary-General Ji Xianzheng noted that Hubei boasts an advantageous location and a thriving economy, making constant progress in “bringing in investment” and “going global” and enjoying bright prospects for all-round international cooperation. Since its establishment in 2003, Forum Macao has created a new model of intergovernmental cooperation and a new channel for economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. China has maintained stable relations with Portuguese-speaking countries, and the two sides enjoy high economic and trade complementarity and enormous potential for cooperation. The Permanent Secretariat will earnestly implement the Strategic Plan formulated at the Ministerial Conference, actively participate in economic and trade promotion activities organized by the participants in Mainland China, Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries, make full use of Macao’s role as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and promote exchanges and cooperation with Hubei and other provinces in Mainland China.

After the conference, delegates of Portuguese-speaking countries to Forum Macao communicated with the participants.