Making Use of Geographic Advantage: Building “One Belt One Road” Vital City

The Vision Of Participating In “One Belt One Road”

As a national top-level design, “One Belt One Road” will help Macao gets rid of excessive dependence on gambling industry and better develops Macao's business service platform, featured financial industry, cultural industry, tourism, hotel, cuisine, etc. As early as 2001, Edmund Ho, chief executive of the Macao special administrative region, put forward the industrial policy of “enhancing the leading role of tourism and gambling industry and service industry, promoting the coordinated development of all kinds of industries” in his command paper. In particular, according to the data of Macao's statistics bureau, Macao's gambling industry experienced negative growth for the first time in 2014, which made the danger of excessive dependence on gambling suddenly appear and the call for promoting the diversified development of Macao's economy and industry is stronger than before. Therefore, Macao should take advantage of the “One Belt One Road” and follow the trend to inspire new industry leaders, adjust the direction of capital use and talent cultivation, so as to play a role as the bridgehead or node city in the new pattern of “One Belt and One Road”. Additionally, it also should seek for a new breakthrough and growth point for the diversification of Macao’s economic structure and the integration of China's economy and global economy.

In 2014, the Macao submitted to the central government of China the text of “Suggestions on Macao's participation in the national 13th five-year plan”, which clearly expressed Macao's willingness to participate in and integrate into the construction of “One Belt and One Road”. It was also clearly stated in the 2015 policy address of the Macao SAR government that “Macao will commit to the construction of 'One Belt One Road' and strengthen economic and trade exchanges and cultural exchanges with ASEAN countries.”1 ” In March 2015, Macao was approved to be included in the “One Belt And One Road” strategy by the central government. Mr. Shian Chui, the present chief executive of Macao declared that the government of the Macao special administrative region would attach great importance to and cooperate with central government to make efforts to carry out a series of detailed actions to support the implementation of the vision and action in building the silk road economic belt and the 21st century maritime silk road.