A delegation led by the Chair of the Committee for Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Affairs of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Mr Tian Guiming, visited the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) on August 3.

The Deputy Secretary-General of the Permanent Secretariat, Ms Echo Chan, and representatives of the Permanent Secretariat met with the visiting delegation. The two parties exchanged opinions regarding the establishment of a closer relationship, the use of Macao’s advantages as a cooperation platform and the enhancement of collaboration between Tianjin and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

Mr Tian said the visit intended to foster a closer relationship and a stronger collaboration between Tianjin and the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao. The official also highlighted a few advantages offered by Macao and Tianjin, namely: Macao’s role as a service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries; Tianjin’s role as the economic centre and the largest port in Northern China; the establishment of the Tianjin Free-Trade Zone; and the newly launched Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries Products (Tianjin) Exhibition Centre. By taking advantage of these initiatives, Tianjin and Portuguese-speaking Countries could strengthen cooperation on several fields, such as culture, education, business and trade, he added.

The Deputy Secretary-General Ms Chan welcomed the Tianjin CPPCC delegation and gave it a briefing about the work of the Permanent Secretariat in the fields of trade and investment, capacity production, human resource training, and promotion of cultural exchanges. Ms Chan stated that the Permanent Secretariat has a close cooperation with Tianjin, noting that Forum Macao offered a multilateral mechanism that could help improve the cooperation between Tianjin and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

During the meeting, the members of the visiting delegation also had the opportunity to exchange views with representatives of Portuguese-speaking Countries at Forum Macao.