Focus on Bissau, invest to obtain status, and immigrate to secure a passport. The national “13th-Five-Year” Plan outlines support for Macau to build a world center for tourism and leisure, and a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. While Macau is committed to leveraging its role as a China-Portugal platform, it is also aligning with the 'Guiding Opinions on Deepening Cooperation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region' recently issued by the State Council to deepen regional cooperation. As a core area for deep cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macau, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) participated in the “China–Portugal–Macao SAR Business Opportunities Forum” in Lisbon, Portugal, and the “Entrepreneur Meeting for Commercial and Economic Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries - Bissau 2016” in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. It also continued to strengthen Pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation by inviting representatives from various Pan-Pearl River Delta provinces (regions) to participate. Among them, Luo Shuangfeng, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, and Zheng Zhe, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Division, were invited to attend. They considered the meeting highly fruitful, noting that the Macau platform helps enterprises in the Pan-Pearl River Delta and Macau to “bring in and go global.”
Economic and trade cooperation between Hunan Province and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries is frequent. In 2015, the total import and export volume between Hunan Province and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries was 667 million USD, of which the total trade volume with Portugal reached 188.5 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 2.33%. Luo Shuangfeng, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, believes that the “China–Portugal–Macao SAR Business Opportunities Forum” and the “Entrepreneur Meeting for Commercial and Economic Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries - Bissau 2016” not only promoted the economic, trade, and investment environment of Hunan Province and leveraged Macau's role as a core area of the Pan-Pearl River Delta, but also expanded economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between Hunan, Portuguese-speaking countries, and Macau. The China-Portugal platform built by Macau for Hunan helps to “bring in” enterprises from Portuguese-speaking countries and help local enterprises “go global.” During their time in Portugal and Guinea-Bissau, representatives from the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province held over ten business matching sessions, covering industries such as environmental protection, food, and processing.
Luo Shuangfeng, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province, stated that the “Dynamic Macao Promotion Week,” supported by IPIM, was successfully held in Changsha. Macau played its important role as a China-Portugal platform, which not only deepened mutual understanding between Hunan, Macau, and Portuguese-speaking countries, but also broadened the scope of cooperation. Hunan Province has close economic and trade ties with Portuguese-speaking countries and strong industrial complementarity. In the future, it will focus on Portuguese-speaking countries as a key point of engagement, highlighting cooperation in key industries and supporting enterprises. IPIM has already taken the lead in establishing the first exhibition area for food products from Portuguese-speaking countries at its liaison office in Fuzhou. In view of this, Hunan also plans to set up a “Portuguese-speaking Countries Food Exhibition Point” within the province, hoping to introduce more food products from Portuguese-speaking countries and promote trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.