On March 29, a delegation of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao and diplomatic envoys to China from nine Portuguese-speaking countries visited the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, taking a closer look at the Zone's development and related business opportunities.

Ng Chi Kin, deputy director of the Executive Committee of the Zone, introduced that the Zone has implemented a series of preferential policies in industrial development, market access and taxation to promote the integrated development of Hengqin and Macao. Next the Zone will implement the First-tier and Second-tier management, facilitating the cross-border flow of goods and personnel, which will provide a broader development space and investment convenience for enterprises from Portuguese-speaking countries in the future.

Ji Xianzheng, secretary general of the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, said that they wish to enhance trade and investment between Portuguese-speaking countries and the Zone, "We felt that the overall business environment of the Zone was very friendly."

Representatives from Portuguese-speaking countries expressed their hope to strengthen connectivity with the Zone, seek opportunities for industrial cooperation, and promote enterprises from Portuguese-speaking countries to invest in the Zone.

Later the delegation attended the Unicorn Enterprise Global Development and Cooperation Forum in the Zone and discussed the new model of China- Portuguese-speaking countries' cooperation based in Hengqin.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Forum Macao, a multilateral, intergovernmental cooperation mechanism aimed at promoting economic and trade exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, by using Macao as a connecting platform between those places.

Since its establishment, the total trade volume between the Chinese mainland and Portuguese-speaking countries has increased from 11 billion USD in 2003 to 214.8 billion USD in 2022. Direct investment has risen from 56 million USD in 2003 to 7.4 billion USD in 2020. The cooperation projects cover governmental collaboration, trade and investment, culture and tourism, public health, traditional medicine, marine environmental protection and production capacity cooperation.