Xi hails chief executive's contribution

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Ho Iat-seng, the outgoing chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, during their meeting in Macao on Wednesday. Xi arrived in Macao earlier in the day for celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland and the inauguration of the SAR's sixth-term government. He will also inspect the SAR. (ZHAI JIANLAN/XINHUA)

President Xi Jinping acknowledged on Wednesday the work of the fifth-term Macao Special Administrative Region government and its Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng in consolidating the city's prosperity and stability, expressing hope that the outgoing chief executive will continue contributing to the practice of "one country, two systems".

Xi made the remarks when meeting with Ho in Macao shortly after his arrival in the city to attend a gathering marking the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland and the inauguration of the SAR's sixth-term government.

The president praised Ho's tenure over the past five years, saying that he has tackled challenges head-on and made hard-won and pragmatic achievements.

Ho has led the SAR government to fully and faithfully implement "one country, two systems", safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and successfully overcome the severe challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said.

Ho and the SAR government also made efforts in promoting the moderately diversified economic development of Macao, achieving new progress in various fields, and consolidating as well as advancing Macao's prosperity and stability, the president noted.

Xi said that he hopes Ho will support the new chief executive and the SAR government in their law-based governance, and make new contributions to the practice of "one country, two systems" and the development of Macao and the nation.

Extending a warm welcome, Ho said he was sincerely grateful to Xi and the central government for the trust in and support for him.

With the strong support of the central authorities, the Macao SAR government united various sectors to deal with COVID-19 and pushed for new progress in the development of the SAR, he said. Ho also pledged support to the new SAR administration in exercising law-based governance.

Since its return to the motherland 25 years ago, Macao has achieved all-around development and continuously integrated into national development.

Once a quiet coastal town, Macao has been transformed into one of the wealthiest cities in Asia. Its gross domestic product increased from 51.9 billion patacas ($6.23 billion) in 1999 to 379.5 billion patacas in 2023, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In the first three quarters of this year, its GDP topped 301 billion patacas, up 11.5 percent year-on-year. In 1999, only 7 million travelers visited the city, while the number surged to 32.545 million as of Dec 7.