A seminar marking the 10-day countdown to Macao's return to the motherland was held in Beijing on December 10 with the participation of more than 200 overseas Chinese, Hong Kong and Macao entrepreneurs in Beijing.

The speakers at the seminar voiced a warm welcome for Macao's return to the motherland and said they had great confidence in the region's bright future.

They expressed the belief that the principle of "one country, two systems" will surely be achieved and the Chinese government will also successfully solve the Taiwan issue and realize the country's unification.

Zhang Mao, vice mayor of Beijing, said that Macao's return indicates that China is becoming ever stronger, and Macao entrepreneurs in Beijing have made efforts to promote understanding and exchanges between the two sides.

There are in Beijing a total of 15,000 joint ventures with 28 billion U.S. dollars of overseas capital. About 6,000 of them involve 15 billion U.S. dollars of investment from Hong Kong and Macao.

The seminar was jointly sponsored by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Beijing municipal government and the city's Association for Overseas Chinese-founded Enterprises.