In the context of the Lunar Cake Festival, Xi Jinping asked Macau and Hong Kong to make a greater contribution to the country’s development; through regional integration – the Greater Bay Area – but also in the relationship with the West. It’s not exactly new, but it’s important again; because it allows us to frame the cycle of change underway – and it’s reassuring. In the same speech, the Chinese President made it clear that the national priority remains the reintegration of Taiwan and the fight against independence. This is no less relevant because he is once again sending out signals that the West interprets as contradictory. They may not even be contradictory – in Beijing they aren’t – but it is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile the nationalist and security discourse from the inside with guarantees of openness and rapprochement from the outside.
In Macau, the issue is simpler and more obvious. On the one hand, there is – and never has been – no real danger of independence. But neither does it yet have the capacity to be relevant, either in the Greater Bay Area or in attracting foreign investment and know-how. Not to mention the diplomatic contribution; a permanent terror for the leaders of the MSAR, whose autonomy does not include foreign relations.
From the point of view of economic diversification, a city with 650,000 inhabitants, dependent on gambling, has a lot to gain in a market of 80 million people, which represents around 15 percent of China’s Gross Domestic Product. But what is the added value of gambling in this space? Precisely the bridge with the West – in particular with the Portuguese-speaking countries. In this sense, Xi Jinping’s message can only benefit Macau, and Sam Hou Fai’s new cycle will take firm steps in this direction.
The West wants a more distant political environment on the mainland, but it is also true that, in one way or another, it wants the Chinese market. It doesn’t just want Macau, whose market is marginal, unless it opens doors from here in the Greater Bay Area and throughout China. La Palice couldn’t have said it better; Xi Jinping repeats it… Sam Hou Fai has the floor.
