Xia Baolong, the nation’s top official overseeing Hong Kong and Macao affairs, will make a six-day inspection tour of Macao starting Thursday to learn about the region’s development and governance.

A Macao Special Administrative Region government spokesperson said on Wednesday that Xia, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, aims to gain a better understanding of the latest developments in Macao society and its economy, and of the work of the new-term SAR government led by Chief Executive Sam Hou-fai.

The central government official has maintained regular contact with Macao communities, carrying out a four-day inspection tour in 2023 and a weeklong tour in 2024 to learn about the SAR’s social and economic progress, and exchanged views with government officials, community leaders, and representatives from various sectors in Macao.

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Xia, who is also director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, visited the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin on Feb 7 and 8 to learn about its latest industrial development.

Welcoming Xia’s inspection, Sam thanked the central government for its longstanding care and support for Macao, and vowed to make proper arrangements to ensure the tour passes off smoothly.

Macao lawmaker Kou Kam-fai told China Daily that Xia has always attached great importance to Macao’s development, and he hopes this visit can deepen the central government’s understanding of the actual situation in the SAR, while providing important guidance for Macao’s practice of “one country, two systems”, appropriate economic diversification, livelihood improvement, and education development.

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Kou, who is also the principal of Pui Ching Middle School Macau, said he believes the visit can help the city make breakthroughs in key areas such as education development and talent cultivation.

Nick Ng Hong-kei, a Macao entrepreneur who runs technology businesses in the city and in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, said Xia’s inspection tour is a reflection of the central government’s care for and support of Macao.

Ng said he hopes Xia can pay more attention to Macao’s economic diversification under the synergetic development with Hengqin, especially in technology and traditional Chinese medicine industries.

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Vincent Lam, the executive director of the Hengqin Pien Tze Huang Museum, communicated with Xia during the official’s inspection tour of Hengqin in February.

Lam said he believes Xia’s inspection tour of Macao will inject new momentum into the SAR’s and Hengqin’s development, and motivate more young people to tell good Macao stories on the global stage.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com