The News
China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Macau Wednesday for a three-day visit, marking the former Portuguese colony’s 25th year under Beijing’s control.
In preparation for Xi’s visit, island officials have significantly heightened security measures, including a ban on drones and carrying weapons, as well as transportation shut downs.
Upon landing at Macau’s airport, Xi described the island as the “jewel of the motherland,” Reuters reported.
“In the next few days, I will take a walk, have a look, and have extensive and in-depth exchanges with friends from all walks of life to discuss Macau’s development plans,” Xi said.
Macau’s commemoration coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an agreement between the UK and China that set the conditions for transfer of Hong Kong, then a UK colony, to Chinese control in 1997. The UK has since criticized China for reneging on parts of the deal meant to secure democratic freedoms in the territory, especially a Beijing-backed national security law passed in 2023. China, meanwhile, countered that the agreement “no longer has any practical significance.”
SIGNALS
Xi’s visit cements ‘Beijingese ruled Macau’
President Xi Jinping’s trip, accompanied by Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee, bolstered the leadership of Sam Hou-fai, who took over the administration of Macau in October. The sole candidate for the job, Sam is the first Macau chief executive to be born and raised in mainland China. Commentators see his selection as representative of a “Beijingese ruled Macau” — a model that could be applied to Hong Kong. A former Macanese legislator told Radio Free Asia that for the island it may be less damaging “to be governed by people who are more familiar with the mainland, because they know where the red line is.”
Xi expected to push campaign against gambling
Xi is expected to push Macau to diversify its economy from gambling during the trip, an echo of earlier directives.. Speaking to Singaporean outlet the Straits Times, a gaming industry consultant said Xi will want “to see for himself what non-gaming, hard investment has eventuated” in Macau, which has struggled to shift its economy toward other industries, as non-gaming ventures have so far yielded meager profits. Gambling accounts for 85% of the island’s revenue and employs one in five workers, The Economist reported, stressing that as “the world’s casino capital, [gambling] is an economic necessity.” The only bright spot in the diversification drive is the “concert economy,” which drew 28 million visitors and almost $138 million in ticket sales last year.