National political advisers from Hong Kong and Macao called on their home cities to seize the opportunities arising from the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan without delay, highlighting the extensive achievements that the special administrative regions made during previous blueprints.  

Prior to the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Wednesday, Hong Kong and Macao members of the National Committee of the CPPCC attended the “Members' Passage”, a group interview with media representatives and spoke to the public.

“Aligning with the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong must seize the moment without delay. It is Hong Kong's bounden duty to better integrate itself into the country's overall development,” said Tu Haiming, vice-chairperson of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

He said that there were several ways that Hong Kong can contribute to the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan .

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Hong Kong, with its rich experience in international markets, can be a launchpad for Chinese mainland enterprises to go global, he said.

 “As the world's third-largest international financial center, Hong Kong can also empower the inno-tech industries by injecting more financial momentum into the development of new quality productive forces for domestic enterprises,” Tu said.

He also noted the city’s advantages in institutional strengths and green projects, saying it can contribute to the nation’s high-level opening-up, external reforms, and institutional opening-up, and attract more global capital to fund the mainland’s green projects.

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Macao member of the National Committee of the CPPCC Chen Jimin, who is also the vice-chairwoman and secretary-general of the university council at the Macau University of Science and Technology, highlighted Macao's recent progress in higher education, particularly in scientific research and innovation.

She noted that the number of higher education students in Macao has grown from 8,000 to over 62,000, with more than 9,000 now pursuing science and technology degrees at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. The number of scientific researchers at universities has also surged from 13 to 1,773, a 136-fold increase.

Macao now has four State key labs, spanning traditional Chinese medicine, microelectronics, smart city of Internet of Things, and lunar and planetary science, and is building itself into an international talent highland for innovation.

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Macao is able to raise a generation of young scientists, thanks to the state key labs and local universities, through participating in the nation’s projects, Chen said.

The focused effort on scientific research has enabled everyone to grow, greatly inspiring a sense of emotional identification and pride in the nation's strong scientific and technological capabilities, she said.

This is also attracting an increasing number of top international scientists to establish themselves in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, she added.