Macau, China, April 17, 2025 (Lusa) - The Macau government announced on Thursday the establishment of a centre to promote economic services between China and Portuguese and Spanish Language Countries in the neighbouring Hengqin Special Economic Zone. The idea is to provide companies from these countries with services in the fields of "language, law, taxation, compliance verification, training, arbitration and mediation", said André Cheong Weng Chon, Macau's Secretary for Administration and Justice, in the Legislative Assembly. The words of Cheong, who was presenting the Government Action Guidelines for 2025 in the Administration and Justice portfolio, are in line with what the leader of the Macau government, Sam Hou Fai, announced on Monday, declaring his intention to "promote exchange and co-operation" through Macau between China and the Spanish-speaking world. China established the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) as a platform for strengthening economic and trade co-operation with Portuguese Language Countries in 2003. That same year, it created the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese Language Countries (Forum Macau). More than two decades later, Sam is broadening the focus to include Spanish-speaking countries. As he indicated during the general presentation of the Government Action Guidelines for 2025, co-operation should focus, among other sectors, on finance, culture, tourism and cross-border e-commerce. "These countries are close in terms of culture and language, and are part of the Latin world. And we take into account the past experiences, the culture, the whole political and social system of these countries," André Cheong said. Noting that the new space has mixed management, from Macau and the Deepened Cooperation Zone, he also said that the "commercial support centre does not overlap with Forum [Macau]". On Monday, Sam Hou Fai, Macau's first leader to speak Portuguese, also suggested that he would take advantage of a visit to Portugal, scheduled for after the Portuguese legislative elections on 18 May, to go to Spain and ‘start contacts’. The Hengqin Deepened Cooperation Zone is a project launched by Beijing in 2021, jointly managed by Guangdong province and Macau, with an area of around 106 square kilometres. However, a number of problems persist in this special area, noted André Cheong, referring to "the insufficient development of the real economy, the high vacancy rate of commercial buildings, as well as the lack of movement of people and commercial activity". In the second phase of the construction of this area, said the secretary, Macau and Guangdong province will strengthen "the interconnection of infrastructures", "the coordination of rules and mechanisms" and "bring the residents of Macau and Hengqin closer together". CAD/AYLS // AYLS Lusa