The Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), Ms Xu Yingzhen, led a delegation in a visit to the cities of Nanjing and Changzhou in Jiangsu Province. The initiative aimed at strengthening cooperation between Portuguese-speaking Countries and the provinces and cities in Mainland China, namely by promoting industrial capacity cooperation and closer ties between Jiangsu and Macao.

The delegation consisted of more than 60 people. It included members of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao and representatives from Portuguese-speaking Countries who participated in the “Workshop on Capacity Production Cooperation for Portuguese-speaking Countries” and the “Workshop on Finance Cooperation for Portuguese-speaking Countries”.

Participants in the two workshops – from various sectors such as trading, finance, the law and public infrastructure – then joined a series of educational visits in Jiangsu Province. The visits were related to economic and trade promotion, industrial capacity cooperation, and the training of human resources. It was the first time the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao had organised such large-scale, multi-sector delegation for a visit to Jiangsu Province. The initiative strengthened the role of Forum Macao as a bridge between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, namely in the economic, trade and educational sectors.

During the visit to Nanjing, the delegation met representatives of six working groups from Jiangsu during the “Summit for Commercial and Industrial Development of Jiangsu Province, Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries”. The two sides reported the progress of their respective activities, and exchanged opinions regarding development opportunities.

The Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao also organised a presentation session on the “Promotion of Industrial Capacity Cooperation between Jiangsu, Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries”. The session was attended by representatives of Jiangsu enterprises from various sectors, including fisheries, trade, scientific research and manufacturing. During the session, the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Jiangsu Province, Mr Zhang Songping, gave an introduction on the economic and investment environment of Jiangsu and the province’s plan for industrial capacity cooperation.

The Permanent Secretariat’s Ms Xu gave a brief introduction about Forum Macao and Macao’s role as a platform, as well as the progress regarding promotion of industrial capacity cooperation. Representatives of several local enterprises also conducted presentations about their respective companies and their plans to promote further cooperation with Portuguese-speaking Countries. Representatives of Portuguese-speaking Countries at Forum Macao briefed participants about the investment projects in their countries and the status of the industrial capacity cooperation projects in their respective countries. During the visit to Nanjing, the delegation toured the Jiangning Economic and Technological Development Zone and visited the Beijiang New Zone.

In Changzhou, the delegation was welcomed by officials of the Municipal Government of Changzhou, including the city’s Vice Mayor, Mr Fang Guoqiang. The Vice Mayor said he hoped that Forum Macao could help enterprises from Changzhou better to access the markets of Portuguese-speaking Countries, in order to achieve mutual benefits for all, while at the same time making Changzhou an important link for the promotion of economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

During the visit to Changzhou the delegation also attended the “Seminar on the Industrial Capacity Cooperation between Changzhou, Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries” and went to the city’s Wujin district to understand better its investment environment. They also held exchange sessions with local entrepreneurs during visits respectively to the China-Israel Innovation Park, the Changzhou Graphene Science and Technology Industrial Park and the site of the future Jiangsu-Macao Cooperation Park.

The visits to Jiangsu Province, organised by the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, strengthened the exchange and cooperation between Portuguese-speaking Countries and enterprises from Mainland China, and improved the communication with the economic and trade departments of Jiangsu Province. The visits allowed representatives of Portuguese-speaking Countries to understand better the development advantages of the province. Via people-to-people exchanges and visits to local enterprises, both sides could enhance existing cooperation ties.

With the support of Macao’s role as a platform, and the multilateral cooperation mechanism of Forum Macao, the bridge between enterprises in Mainland China and Portuguese-speaking Countries has been strengthened. This helps the promotion of pragmatic cooperation between enterprises from Mainland China, especially those from Jiangsu, and enterprises from Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries, which reinforces Macao’s function as a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries.