Representative of the European Commission in Hong Kong and Macao Etienne Reuter said on December 17 that the European Union (EU) supports China's "one country, two systems" policy on Macao and is committed to further EU-Macao relations after Macao's return to China.

"The concept of 'One country, two systems' has worked well in Hong Kong and must be considered a success, and I believe this concept will also work smoothly in Macao," Reuter told Xinhua on the eve of Macao's return to the motherland.

The 55-year-old diplomat from Luxembourg believed the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China will "signal a new departure of, and give a boost to, Macao' s economic development."

As an EU envoy to Hong Kong and Macao, Reuter travels between the two cities frequently every year and devotes his efforts to bring closer the economic relation between EU and Macao.

"Macao is of economic potential since it has the tradition of an open and tolerant society and costs there are low and its infrastructures are generally good, though it is geographically

small," Reuter said.

Macao has also market potential in service sectors and will be a tourist destination, he added.

As for EU-Macao relations, Reuter said that " EU attaches great importance to the preservation of Macao's special identity and cultural legacy as well as of its historical links with Europe."

"Over the past decade, the bilateral relations between Macao and EU have been strengthened in a steady way," he said, adding that the strong personal ties between the two places make Macao "a natural springboard "for EU into the Asian-Pacific region.

According to him, EU is Macao's second largest trading partner, absorbing roughly 30 percent of its total annual export, and it is also ranked the third largest investor in Macao after China's Mainland and Hong Kong.

China and Portugal have agreed that the Trade and Cooperation Agreement Macao concluded with EU in 1992 will continue after Macao's return, and the European Commission intends to further develop and strengthen this cooperation, according to Reuter.

Under this cooperation, a well-known vocational training center in hotel industry and a highly-regarded institute of European studies have been set up in Macao, Reuter added.

"We will work together with the newly-born Macao SAR government to identify the specific needs and work on programs for Macao's economic development in a bid to help Macao become a regional center for training and cultural exchanges," he said.

Reuter believed that Macao will remain a special partner for EU in the region and fulfill its potential as a regional center for cultural and economic exchanges.

"I have no doubt that we will witness a smooth transfer in Macao and that the new team under Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah has the ability to cope with all kinds of challenges they may face." Reuter said.

Speaking of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Reuter believed it will benefit China and Macao in many respects. The same rule for trade will apply to both Macao and the Chinese mainland, and Macao's experience of WTO membership will also be helpful to partners from the mainland, Reuter said.

Basically, China's entry into the WTO will mean more trade and more exchanges, and Macao, as an entrepot for Chinese exports as well as a service provider, will benefit a lot, he said.