Forum of Think Tanks between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries held at UM

The Forum of Think Tanks between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, jointly organised by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR and the Macao SAR government, was held at the University of Macau (UM) today (29 May). Themed ‘Alcançar o Consenso sobre o Desenvolvimento Global, Unir Esforços para a Modernização Mundial’ (Achieving Consensus on Global Development, Uniting Efforts for Global Modernisation), the forum brought together over 100 guests and scholars from mainland China, Macao, and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Liu Xianfa, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, said that the forum, now in its third year, has become an important platform for the Global Development Initiative and mutual learning between civilisations. He added that Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR will continue to support Macao’s role in connecting China and the world and fostering cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

O Lam, secretary for social affairs and culture of the Macao SAR, highlighted Macao’s role as a strategic gateway for China’s high-level opening-up and a hub for cultural exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and Western civilisations. She expressed hope that Macao will promote closer ties between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries in terms of economic and trade cooperation, academic research, think tank cooperation, and cultural exchanges.

Yonghua Song, rector of UM, said that the forum would provide an important platform for mutual learning and cooperation between Chinese and Portuguese-speaking countries. As a leading academic institution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, UM has developed an international education model and trained many Portuguese-speaking professionals. The university stands ready to work with all parties to help build a community with a shared future for mankind.

The forum featured keynote speeches by Shi Dan, academic member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and director of the Institute of Industrial Economics of CASS; Diego Pautasso, director of academic research at the Brazil-China Research Centre (Centro de Estudos Avançados Brasil-China) of the Maurício Grabois Foundation in Brazil; and Lok Wai Kin, vice-chairman of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and chairperson of the General Assembly of the Union of Macau Scholars.

The event also included two parallel sessions themed ‘Partilha de Experiências sobre os Processos de Modernização em Diferentes Países’ (Experiences of Modernisation in Different Countries) and ‘Visão Conjunta do Rumo para a Modernização’ (Joint Vision for the Road to Modernisation), respectively. Sixteen scholars from Macao, mainland China, and eight Portuguese-speaking countries—Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, Timor-Leste, Angola, Cabo Verde, and Mozambique—shared their insights during the sessions.

In his closing remarks, Hu Weixing, dean of UM’s Faculty of Social Sciences, expressed hope that more high-level forums will be held to promote mutual learning and win-win cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in the course of modernisation.