The trade value between Guangzhou and Macao reached $485 million in 2018, up 40.9 percent compared with the previous year, according to a government press conference held by the Guangzhou municipal government on May 7.

As of March 2019, the total number of projects invested by Macao in Guangzhou reached 430 and Guangzhou has set up 23 enterprises and institutions in Macao with a combined contractual investment of nearly $200 million, according to Lei Weiju, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao affairs office of the Guangzhou municipal government.

He added that currently there are a total of nine Guangzhou-Macao science and technology cooperation projects that have received 18 million yuan ($2.66 million) in foreign cooperation special funds from the government, leading to a social investment of 18 million yuan.

"Both Guangzhou and Macao have shouldered important missions in their participation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the cooperation between the two cities has ushered in important development opportunities," Lei said.

At the press conference, a brief introduction was made on the Dynamic Macao Business and Trade Fair-Guangdong Guangzhou, an exhibition of products from Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries that will take place in Guangzhou on May 9. The briefing was given by He Haiming, deputy director of the exhibition's organizing committee.

The exhibition will cover an area of 5,000 square meters with more than 200 booths showcasing food, fashion apparel, household items, technologically innovative products, and Macao souvenirs through six featured exhibition areas.