China's Xi urges bigger international role for gambling hub Macau

Sands China

20/12/2024 24:11

HONG KONG, Dec 20 (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.)
 ((farah.master@thomsonreuters.com; +852 3462 7709;))