The Macau Government announced on Thursday the establishment of a centre to promote economic services between China and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries in the neighbouring Cooperation Zone of Hengqin.

The aim is to provide companies from these countries with services in the “linguistic, legal, fiscal, compliance, training, arbitration, and mediation fields”, said Macau’s Secretary for Administration and Justice, André Cheong Weng Chon, at the Legislative Assembly.

Cheong’s remarks, delivered during the presentation of the 2025 Policy Address for the Administration and Justice portfolio, are in line with what Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai stated on Monday, when he declared the intention to “promote exchange and cooperation” between China and the Spanish-speaking world, via Macau.

China established the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) as a platform to strengthen economic and trade cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries in 2003. That same year, it created the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macau).

More than two decades later, Sam is now broadening the focus to include Spanish-speaking countries. Cooperation, as he indicated in the general presentation of the Policy Address, should focus on sectors such as finance, culture, tourism, and cross-border e-commerce.

“These are countries close in terms of culture and language, part of the Latin world. And we are taking into account past experiences, culture, and the entire political and social systems of these countries,” André Cheong noted.

Pointing out that the new centre will be jointly managed by Macau and the Guangdong–Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone, Cheong added that the “commercial support centre does not overlap with the [Macau] Forum.”

On Monday, Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai also suggested that he would take advantage of a visit to Portugal—scheduled for after the Portuguese legislative elections on 18 May—to travel to Spain and “initiate contacts”.

The In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin is a project launched by Beijing in 2021 and jointly managed by the province of Guangdong and Macau, covering an area of around 106 square kilometres.

However, a series of problems persist in this special area, André Cheong noted, citing “insufficient development of the real economy, a high vacancy rate of commercial buildings, as well as a lack of people flow and commercial activity”.

In the second phase of development of the zone, the Secretary said, Macau and Guangdong province will strengthen “infrastructure connectivity”, “alignment of rules and mechanisms”, and the “integration of residents from Macau and Hengqin”.

In Macau Business, by LUSA