Macao SAR: Forging an open gateway to the world

Backed by the central government, the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has been making significant progress in expanding external cooperation. Shaped by its unique historical trajectory, Macao shares linguistic, cultural, and legal common ground with Portuguese-speaking countries, endowing it with an unrivaled advantage as a service platform for commercial and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking economies. In a bid to broaden its international outreach, the SAR government has launched the “Navigate East” strategy, aimed at deepening economic, trade, financial, and cultural collaboration with Spanish-speaking countries, thereby consolidating Macao's role as a key bridgehead in China's high-standard opening up.

Two recent events, the 17th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF) and the 12th China-LAC Infrastructure Forum (CLACIF) held concurrently in Macao this June, have injected new impetus into Macao's efforts to go global. Nearly 60 ministerial-level officials from over 70 countries and regions, together with more than 3,500 representatives from political and business circles across the global infrastructure industrial chain, gathered in the city to align development strategies and discuss major cooperation initiatives.

Bridging the globe: The two forums have forged a vital link for global infrastructure cooperation

Launched in Macao in 2012, IIICF ranks among the world's largest and highest-profile annual infrastructure events with a special focus on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) collaboration, providing a premier exchange platform for global stakeholders. CLACIF, introduced in 2015 as a parallel event, facilitates policy coordination, information sharing and practical infrastructure cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

This year's events marked three historic firsts: Macao SAR Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai held the first pre-opening collective meeting with ministerial guests from participating nations; LAC ministerial officials made their first group visit to the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin; and the first exhibition showcasing infrastructure cooperation achievements between China and Portuguese-speaking countries was staged.

The forums also set two new records: Participation from Portuguese and Spanish-speaking nations jumped nearly 20 percent year on year, with first-time exhibitors making up 20 percent of the total, a record high. Attendance also hit an all-time peak, with representatives from over 20 percent of the world's top 250 international contractors and 17 heads of global infrastructure associations in attendance.

The forums yielded fruitful results: over 200 business matching sessions were held, and 21 cooperation agreements worth $9.9 billion were signed, including over $70 million in deals between Chinese and LAC enterprises. Mr. Stephen Tsang, Minister of Public Works and Spatial Planning of Suriname, stated that his country had gained access to high-quality resources through the IIICF, and that Macao truly lives up to its role as a bridge.

Renewing the Silk Road: The ancient bond has transformed into a key hub connecting domestic and international networks

As a key hub on East-West maritime routes since the 16th century, Macao has forged centuries of trade links spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Since its return to the motherland, Macao has leveraged its unique position of being "backed by the motherland, connected to the world" to actively engage in high-quality BRI cooperation and expand trade ties with BRI partner economies.

In 2025, Macao's trade volume with BRI partners reached 16.07 billion patacas (about $1.99 billion), up 8.4 percent year on year. A string of targeted initiatives—from issuing BRI-themed bonds, establishing the BRI Tax Academy of Macao (Hengqin Campus), to rolling out BRI scholarships and hosting the 2025 International Forum on Mutual Learning Among Civilizations—have advanced trade connectivity, financial integration and people-to-people exchanges.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the IIICF's launch in Macao. Over the past 15 years, the event has drawn over 30,000 participants including 700 ministerial officials, and facilitated more than 250 infrastructure projects worth over $120 billion. In 2023, the IIICF was included in the State Council Information Office's white paper "The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future," recognizing its critical role in advancing BRI infrastructure connectivity. What was once a maritime transit port has evolved into a modern global connectivity hub, breathing new life into the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

Harmonizing Macao and Hengqin: The twin cities are working in unison to expand the Portuguese-speaking platform to Spanish-speaking nations

In 2025, the SAR government and Hengqin Executive Committee jointly launched the Service Centre for Economy and Trade between China and Portuguese/Spanish-speaking Countries, paired with a dedicated industry development fund, to build a one-stop service platform connecting China with both language groups. Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai wrapped up his first official visit to Spain in April 2026, with a key focus on promoting "Macao+Hengqin" cooperation opportunities, and reaffirmed during the recent forums that Macao will extend its Portuguese-speaking platform to serve Spanish-speaking markets. During the events, ministerial officials from Dominica, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana and Nicaragua made their first group visit to the Hengqin Cooperation Zone, where they saw firsthand the integrated development of Macao and Hengqin characterized by both "hard connectivity" in infrastructure and "soft connectivity" in rules and mechanisms. Mr. Kurk Humphrey, Minister of Transport and Works of Barbados, praised the forward-looking nature of the Macao-Hengqin coordinated development strategy, which he believes will help further unlock cooperation channels between Macao and Latin America.

During his inspection tour of Macao in December 2024, President Xi Jinping encouraged Macao to aim high and reach far to build a higher-standard opening-up platform and play a greater role on the global stage. Going forward, Macao will continue to leverage the strengths of the "One Country, Two Systems" framework and the Macao-Hengqin integrated development model to serve as a bridge linking China's mainland and Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries, including those in the LAC region, thus writing a new chapter of Macao's contribution to the high-quality BRI cooperation.

The author is a commentator on international affairs, writing regularly for People's Daily Online, CGTN, etc.