President Yang Cheng Attends Seminar on “Lessons from the Hong Kong and Macao Experience for Hainan Free Trade Port Development”
The seminar “Hong Kong and Macao Experience: Lessons and Inspiration for the Development of the Hainan Free Trade Port”, organised by the Hong Kong and Macao Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, was held in Beijing on 28 March 2026 and chaired by the Institute's Director, Bi Yanying. MFTEDA President Yang Cheng, also a visiting professor at the Macao Polytechnic University, attended by invitation and took part in the discussions.
Participants included Hong Kong Legislative Council member Fan Kaijie, Professor Wang Jiangyu of City University of Hong Kong, Chen Zhifeng, Secretary-General of the Macao Development Strategy Research Centre, Wang Zhenmin, Dean of the Institute for State Governance at Tsinghua University, and Jin Xu, President of the China Association of International Trade. They held in-depth exchanges on topics including the development of the rule-of-law system of the Hainan Free Trade Port, trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, the development of modern service industries, cross-border financial innovation, risk prevention and control, and governance effectiveness.
Drawing on Macao's practical experience as a free port and a separate customs territory, Yang Cheng offered suggestions on institutional alignment and risk prevention following the island-wide independent customs operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port, noting that Macao could strengthen cooperation with Hainan in areas such as tourism and leisure, conventions, exhibitions and commerce, and traditional Chinese medicine, thereby sharing experience and combining complementary strengths.
The seminar reflects MFTEDA's engagement, as a think tank, in issues of major national strategy. MFTEDA will continue to follow the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port and offer advice and recommendations to support Macao's deeper integration into the nation's overall development.