China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has seen remarkable economic progress over the years, with the region's business environment enjoying distinct advantages that are driving its sustainable development, according to a local official.
Macao's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 301 billion Macanese pataca (MOP) (about 37.5 billion U.S. dollars) for the first three quarters of 2024, marking a real year-on-year growth of 11.5 percent, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service of the Macao SAR Government.
This marks the first time since 2019 that Macao's GDP for the first three quarters has surpassed the 300 billion MOP level, with service exports increasing by 11.4 percent year on year.
The continued improvement in Macao's local economic conditions and job market has led to rising incomes for residents, fueling steady growth in private consumption. In the first three quarters of this year, the consumer expenditure rose by 5.8 percent year on year.
Speaking in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Vincent U, president of the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute of the Macao SAR, highlighted three key figures that illustrate Macao's unique advantages.
"Regarding the unique advantage, I would like to share three figures with you. Firstly, is one, the most important advantage of Macao is the 'One country, two systems'. Under one country, two systems, we have a series of advantages. And the second figure is nine. We are designated by the central government as the only place, as the platform between China and Portuguese speaking countries for economic cooperation. And as you may know, Portuguese speaking countries compose of nine countries, with nearly 300 million population, which is a huge market," the president continued.
U also noted the significance of the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin, Zhuhai City, which has helped Macao address the long-standing spatial constraints.
"And lastly, the figure is 106; 106 meaning the land space [area] of Hengqin, the Hengqin-Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone. Why did I share that? Because as you may know, Macao is a very small place. The land space is a very bad limitation for us. And because it is a long term problem for us, the 106 square kilometers of land space of Hengqin has transformed this situation. And it is very meaningful for us, especially for our sustainable economic development in the future," said the president.
In 2021, the Chinese central authorities decided to build the cooperation zone in Hengqin, making the island an important new growth point for Macao's economy.
By 2035, the 106-square-kilometer area is expected to become a strong growth engine for the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao science and technology innovation corridor and have helped promote appropriate diversity in Macao's economy.
Unique advantages drive Macao's sustainable economic development: official
Many Chinese logistics companies are ramping up their shipments for the U.S. market following the latest round of mutual tariff adjustments between China and the United States.
China and the United States announced in Geneva on Monday a series of tariff modification measures aimed at easing trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.
The decision followed a two-day China-U.S. high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs, where both sides recognized the importance of their bilateral economic and trade relationship to both countries and the global economy, a joint statement said, noting that both sides emphasized the need for a sustainable, long-term and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship.
The latest measures have driven up the businesses of shipping companies in Shenzhen City, in south China's Guangdong Province.
In a freight forwarding company in Shenzhen, the manager said that U.S. clients are experiencing shortages of supplies and are pressuring them to expedite shipments on the next available vessels. The staff members are busy organizing export release documents, with stacks of paperwork for shipments to ports in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.
"Since the afternoon of May 12, our shipment volume has increased by 40 percent. By June, it should at least be doubled compared to now," said Fu Shengying, deputy general manager of Guangdong Branch of WorldEx Group.
Fuwei Community in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, is an important hub for cross-border e-commerce logistics. Recent data shows that the average daily export shipment volume here has increased by 14 percent over the past three days compared to May 11.
In another logistics company specializing in cross-border e-commerce, orders from U.S. clients have also surged. According to the company, these clients are facing low inventory and need to restock immediately. Over the past few days, the company has received more orders than during the same period in the previous years.
The company manager noted that the surge in order volume has led to increased demand for container ships. Consequently, some shipping companies are starting to adjust their capacity allocation on a global scale.
"Many shipowners had previously adjusted their capacity, but now that a large volume of cargo is suddenly coming in, there is a shortage of capacity. Consequently, freight rates are rising rapidly. Despite this, many clients are still very eager to ship their goods," said Luo Rong, general manager of Shenzhen Branch of Dewell Group.
Yantian Port in Shenzhen is the busiest shipping hub in South China for routes between China and the United States, handling over a quarter of the country's exports to the United States. To meet the surge in demand from U.S. clients, Yantian Port is now scheduling six daily sailings to the United States.
The port staff said that they have recently received inquiries from several shipping companies and are coordinating berth arrangements and schedules. They are prioritizing vessels for U.S. routes at Yantian Port.
Summer is the traditional Christmas ordering season in the United States, and due to previous export suspensions, American sellers' inventories have been declining and urgently need restocking. As a result, demand for Chinese goods is expected to keep rising in the near future.
Chinese logistics enterprises ramp up shipments after China-US tariff adjustment
