Driven by the successful Forum on Cooperation and Development of the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region, government delegations from three of the nine PPRD provinces and autonomous region paid visits consecutively to Macao in June, marking a positive and delectable start of the regional cooperation.

The awareness and will to promote cooperation in the PPRD region, also known as "9+2", have been greatly boosted by the forum and will create a lot of chances for enterprises from the Chinese mainland's PPRD region and the two special administrative regions (SAR), Hong Kong and Macao.

During their visits to Hong Kong and Macao, delegations from Guangxi, Sichuan and Fujian focused on cooperation in economic andtrade fields, exhibition and tourism. Guangxi delegation promoted the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo to be heldin Nanning, while Sichuan held a photo exhibition of its main attraction to Macao residents.

Due to the location and the market situation, Hong Kong and Macao SARs have already established close economic and trade ties with China's mainland provinces, especially the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong province. It was estimated that the capital from Hong Kong and Macao SARs accounts for over 70 percent of all the overseas capital introduced to Guangdong and there are some 80,000 Hong Kong and Macao enterprises in the province.

Wong Hon Keong, President of Macao Social Science Institute, hopes to improve the construction of infrastructure and means of transportation through the regional cooperation, saying that the coordination among the "9+2" governments will help avoid repeated construction. Local experts also consider the free circulation of people, goods and capital in the region as another aim of the cooperation.

As for the role of Macao SAR in the PPRD cooperation, local analysts said although Macao is a small city, it has its own advantage and can exert an important influence on the regional cooperation.

Making steady progress in social and economic development after its return to the motherland in 1999, Macao is currently enjoying a good environment for attracting investors and has a strong will to develop cooperation with other regions.

Meanwhile, as free-trade area and independent tariff zone, Macao has economic and trade relations with over 120 countries andregions, especially with the European Union and the Portuguese-speaking countries. In the future cooperation in the PPRD region, Macao can assist the PPRD region provinces in introducing foreign capital, and help China's mainland enterprises enter the world market.

It was reported that, following the forum and the signing of the Framework Agreement on Regional Cooperation in the PPRD regionon June 3, all the nine PPRD provincial governments showed great interest in cooperating with Hong Kong and Macao SARs.

The "9+2" region consists of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi Autonomous region and Hong Kong and Macao SARs.

Editor: Donald