Beijing is deepening economic cooperation with Macau， by means of the first trade fair with the special administrative region.

Amid the sluggish world economy， Beijing and Macau have been actively exploring new ways of developing exchanges and cooperation. The economic and cultural exchanges have been maintaining a steady growth.

The first Beijing-Macau Trade Fair held in September was a joint effort by the governments of Beijing and Macau with the help of industrial and commercial enterprises. Following the BeijingHong Kong and Beijing-Taiwan trade fairs， this fair is positioned to be a strategic cooperation platform between Beijing and Macau. Beijing aims to build a world class city， while Macau eyes the status of a world tourism and leisure centre.

The fair is to promote the two cities’ cooperation in service trade， tourism， exhibition， cultural creativity， city management， among others and it will meet the demand of the socioeconomic development of the two cities， according to Chui Sai On， Chief Executive of Macau.

The fair is a major initiative for the two cities to implement the central government’s strategic plan and opens a new chapter for closer ties between Beijing and Macau， said Wang Anshun， Acting Mayor of Beijing.

The city is building a “People’s Beijing， Hightech Beijing and Green Beijing” and seems to be abundant in opportunities. In the 2012 rankings， Beijing has leapt from 9th to 1st place in Economic Clout this year， and also ranks in the top 5 in all but one of the indicator’s component variables， according to the 5th edition of Cities of Opportunity， a report released by PwC and the Partnership for New York City.

At the fair， 16 contracts valued of RMB 2.57 billion were signed among 32 enterprises， signifying great cooperation potential for the two cities.

The fair was highlighted by the city governments’ efforts in pushing for the development of its competitive industries; Tourism， trade and exhibitions， became the key fields for contracts at the fair. Relative government departments of the two cities have signed a long-term strategic framework.

“Group action” in traditional industries is also improving. For a while， real estate and manufacturing have been the focus of the two cities’ cooperation but with imbalance in the bilateral trade and investment. However， among the contracts at the fair， there were Macau’s projects of new energy hotel and large commercial plaza in Beijing and also Beijing’s investment in new real estate in Macau.

Another highlight is that further cooperation in the emerging industries is on the horizon. Of the 16 contracts， cultural creativity projects account for 13 (81.3 percent of the total). This is in line with Beijing’s goal of technological and cultural innovation and Macau’s strategic position of moderate economic diversification.