CGTN: New highland: Macao boosts tech innovation, talent cultivation for diversified growth

BEIJING, Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2014, Lei Zhen, a graduate from Tsinghua University in Beijing, chose to settle in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). He decided to start his business in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, and make the innovative application of new materials with nano silver wire its core product.

When the central government established the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin in 2021, Lei relocated his company there, making full use of Macao and Hengqin's capital, talent and taxation advantages to scale up production.

"Hengqin has a vast industrial space and a good supporting environment, which can provide a broad stage for the development of Macao's high-tech and diversified industries," he said.

Today, the cooperation zone has become a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, hosting nearly 6,500 Macao-invested enterprises and providing a platform for new industries.

"Macao plus Hengqin" is becoming a new demonstration to enhance the practice of "One Country, Two Systems," a new highland to promote the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and a new platform to realize the country's high-level opening up, said Chinese President Xi Jinping during an inspection tour of the cooperation zone on Thursday as part of his three-day visit to the Macao SAR.

New highland for innovation

Hengqin is located at the southern tip of Zhuhai and is separated from Macao by a narrow stretch of water. Since its establishment, the cooperation zone has served as a vital platform for promoting Macao's appropriate economic diversification.

It has enabled Macao to develop industries such as high-end manufacturing, traditional Chinese medicine, financial services, and cultural tourism. Today, the cooperation zone is home to 30 national and provincial-level technological innovation platforms, 268 national high-tech enterprises, and 41 provincial-level specialized and sophisticated enterprises.

Currently, the cooperation zone has established innovation platforms, such as the Macao-Hengqin Youth Entrepreneurship Valley, and has drawn several innovative resources, such as industry-university-research bases of Macao universities and high-tech enterprises and talents.

Hailing the progress made in the cooperation zone, President Xi said the level of integration between Hengqin and Macao has gradually improved and that its role of supporting Macao's appropriate economic diversification is becoming prominent.

In recent years, the Macao SAR has also promoted the implementation of major sci-tech projects and important innovation platforms locally, making it a new technological platform for global innovation and a gathering place for talents.

"Macao Science 1" is the first space science satellite program jointly developed by the Chinese mainland and Macao. With the highest accuracy of geomagnetic field detection in China, the satellite will significantly improve the country's space magnetic survey.

Visiting the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) on Thursday, Xi said the satellite is an example of deepened high-tech cooperation between Macao and the mainland, showcasing Macao's sci-tech sector's outstanding innovative and creative capabilities.

Cultivating young talents

The Macao SAR has also become an ideal place for entrepreneurs thanks to its open business environment and the opportunities provided by the cooperation zone.

Today, industry-university-research demonstration bases of the University of Macau and MUST have been established in Hengqin, and four state key laboratories in Macao have set up branches in the zone, carrying out the transformation and industrialization of university scientific and technological achievements.

As of November 2024, Hengqin had incubated 898 entrepreneurship projects for young people from Hong Kong and Macao, with 815 projects from Macao.

Meeting with Macao residents living in Hengqin and young entrepreneurs from Macao who have startups in the zone, President Xi emphasized that Hengqin's development provides great opportunities for Macao's youth to achieve their ambitions and expressed hope that more young people from Macao will build remarkable careers there.

"The building of the cooperation zone is reshaping the regional concepts and career plans of Macao youth. The younger generation is paying more attention to the development potential of the mainland's vast market," said Ip Kuai Peng, vice rector of the City University of Macau.

It is imperative to attach great importance to education from a strategic perspective, lay out the system of disciplines, and cultivate high-quality talents to meet the needs of the development of both the country and the Macao SAR, President Xi said during his visit to MUST.

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