In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Stephanie Raquel, Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies VP Chen Guanghan explains how Macau’s gaming industry will benefit from China’s One Belt, One Road initiative.
In just three decades, China emerged from an inward-looking agricultural country to become a global manufacturing powerhouse with an economy coming close behind the United States. But the Asian country is now faced with slowing economy, and the government is looking for new channels to sustain its appetite for growth.
One of China’s strategy is the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative. OBOR is President Xi Jinping’s ambitious plan of taking a bigger role in global affairs by linking the country with its neighbors in the Eurasia region via an economic land belt and a maritime road.
But how does OBOR affect China’s special administrative region?
Chen Guanghan, vice president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said Macau is in a unique position that allows the city state to enjoy the benefits of the OBOR strategy.
“Macau has the advantage of [the] policy, ‘One Country, Two Systems,’ and [it] depends on tax-free trade and also highly autonomy rights. Macau can be able to make its own decisions about its economy and also it can depend on the large internal market of China’s mainland and also it can be expanded into the international market,” Chen told CalvinAyre.com.
In addition, the city state also has “very huge cooperation” with Portuguese countries, according to Chen.
“[Macau] can be a huge platform for economic development with Hong Kong in terms of economy,” he noted.
For the gaming industry, Chen said OBOR will mean more tourists coming to Macau.
“If we open up to the market in Asia, especially the Southeast Asia, the tourists will be increasing largely and this could [be] beneficial to [the] Macau market,” he explained. “Macau is labeled as an international tourist and leisure center and if OBOR can help this increase the opportunities for tourist economy in Macau, then it will gain a lot of investments.”
