HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s President Xi Jinping said Macau should “keep up with the trend of the times” and play a bigger role on the international stage, as he urged the world’s biggest gambling hub never to be complacent and show “courage” to change and innovate.
Xi called for Macau to “scientifically” plan its future development and “more actively connect with national development strategies” including the country’s Greater Bay Area, which includes the neighbouring financial hubs of Hong Kong and Guangdong province, according to comments posted by the Xinhua official news agency on Friday.
He had been speaking at a gala dinner on Thursday at the Macau Dome, located alongside the city’s Las Vegas-style Cotai strip.
Xi also called for Macau to be more open and inclusive to “recruit talents from all over the world” and “show greater achievements on the international stage.”
Xi arrived in the former Portuguese enclave on Wednesday for a three-day visit to mark a quarter century of Beijing’s rule. He has been visiting different areas of the city including its universities and special economic zones.
Xi’s trip to the world’s biggest gambling hub is his third as president. He last visited in 2019 when anti-government protests were rocking the former British colony of Hong Kong.
A special administrative region of China, Macau is the only place in the country where gambling is legal, and its economy is heavily dependent on the casino industry, which contributes about 80% of regional tax revenue.
Located on China’s southern coast, Macau returned to Chinese rule on Dec. 20, 1999, governed under the same “one country, two systems” formula as Hong Kong.
Xi urged Macau not to be complacent and “be brave to change and innovate” and make better use of the one country, two systems framework Macau is governed under.
(Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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