Continuing the reflection, if we look at the trajectory of economic and commercial cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (PLP) over the past two decades, it is impossible not to recognize the magnitude of the ground covered.
Since the Forum’s founding in 2003, when commercial flow was at just over $10 billion, to the impressive $225 billion in 2024, the growth has been extraordinary. Although this advancement depends on multiple factors, the Macau Forum serves as an institutional catalyst and a bridge system that has successfully promoted dialogue and closeness between markets.
However, the success achieved so far should not be a point of arrival, but rather the foundation for a new and necessary ambition. While the global numbers are impressive, a granular analysis reveals asymmetries that deserve reflection.
Island countries and smaller economies, although they record interesting percentage growths, maintain trade volumes that represent a minimal fraction of the total. In these cases, as well as in other economies with strong potential for diversification such as Angola, Mozambique, or Equatorial Guinea, the numbers still fall short of what the platform could potentially achieve if the dynamics of cooperation were more widespread and present on the ground.
Currently, this dynamic essentially rests on two pillars: visits by business delegations to Macau for major events and the annual holding of the “China and PAL Countries Business Leaders Meeting,” organized by the IPIM and local partners in a rotating manner. Although these meetings have undeniably positive impacts, their rotational nature places them in each host country at intervals of several years.
The question for this new decade is: how can we complement this successful model with even more tangible results? The answer may lie in transitioning to a strategy of greater persistence. In addition to the large annual events, can the platform enhance its presence through smaller, strategic, and focused sector missions that occur in all countries and with greater frequency?
Actively participating in national and sector fairs – such as the FIC in Cape Verde, the FILDA in Angola, the FACIM in Mozambique, or other events – would allow for direct and continuous contact. These missions ensure that entrepreneurs interact, investors get to know the local reality persistently, and not just episodically.
The balance may lie in the union between economic science and millennial wisdom. If modern economics teaches us that “psychic distance” — the mutual lack of knowledge about markets — is the greatest barrier to trade, the Chinese proverb “bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn” reminds us that “hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once.”
This convergence between economic practice and millennial wisdom is not coincidental. Macau is the bridge that must continue to shorten this distance, ensuring that cooperation reaches each country that makes up this unique platform with the same effectiveness.
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