February 15, the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) organized a Spring Festival media reception at the Mandarin Oriental, Macau, to exchange insights with responsible persons of the English-, Portuguese- and Chinese-language media of Macao. Mr Ji Xianzheng, the Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, attended the event and delivered a speech.

Secretary-General Mr Ji remarked that in 2022 Forum Macao successfully held the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting in Macao under the theme of “Cooperate to fight against the pandemic, Collaborate for common development”. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and leaders of eight Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) attended the opening ceremony and made speeches through video conferencing. During the Meeting, nine participating countries’ ministers of economy and trade also made their speeches online, giving directions and suggestions for future cooperation between China and PSCs in areas of economy and trade. In addition, thanks to the support and assistance from different parties, the Permanent Secretariat can continuously carry out various tasks in an orderly manner. In 2023, the 20th anniversary of its establishment, Forum Macao hopes that all functions will resume normal operation. He also expressed his sincere gratitude to the media of Macao for their valuable contribution to raising public understanding of Forum Macao and the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform, and promoting the cooperation and friendship between China and PSCs.

Despite the impact of the pandemic, China remains an important engine for the world economy. In addition to injecting impetus into global economic recovery and sustainable development, China also strives to construct a favorable external environment for the economic recovery and development of PSCs in the post-pandemic era. The participating countries of Forum Macao will follow the Joint Declaration and strategic plans released by the Ministerial Conferences to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation and promote the economic and trade cooperation between China and PSCs. They will make use of the characteristics of the PSCs to boost Macao’s “1+4” adequate diversification development, enrich the content of the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform, and assist Macao to better integrate into the overall national development plan.