Chinese President Jiang Zemin left Macao on December 20 afternoon for Beijing after attending the Macao handover ceremony and related activities.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Central Government Delegation left Macao for Beijing this afternoon.

During his stay in Macao, Jiang, also the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), attended the Macao handover ceremony held by the Chinese and Portuguese governments, the ceremony for the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and the swearing-in of the Macao SAR government as well as the celebration ceremony for the establishment of the Macao SAR.

Members of the Chinese Central Government Delegation who flew back with Jiang included Chi Haotian, Ngapoi Nagwang Jigme, Jing Shuping, Luo Haocai, Zhang Kehui and Zhuo Lin.

Among those seeing Jiang off at the airport were Qian Qichen, Chinese Vice-Premier; Ye Xuanping and Ma Man Kei, Vice-Chairmen of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Ho Hau Wah, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR; Tang Jiaxuan, Vice Foreign Minister; Liao Hui, Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council; and Wang Qiren, Director of the Xinhua News Agency Macao Branch, as well as officials of the central government and the Macao SAR government.