People participate in the 2025 Macao International Parade in Macao, south China, March 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chief Executive of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Sam Hou Fai delivered the 2025 fiscal year policy address on Monday, outlining the overall policy direction, enhancing diversification, improving people's livelihood, strengthening governance, and integrating into national development.

Sam delivered his first policy address at the Legislative Assembly. He stated that the new SAR government will work closely with all sectors of society and the public to pursue innovative development and usher in a new chapter for Macao.

He noted strengthening coordination mechanisms as a key initiative in the government's effort to reform administration and improve governance capacity, elaborating that the government has established six leadership groups and working groups to coordinate the advancement of major cross-sectoral affairs.

Sam also pointed out that Hengqin is key to unlocking Macao's appropriate economic diversification, and the SAR government regards the high-quality achievement of the second-stage development goals of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin as a significant task.

In his address, Sam set forth the government's primary expectations for 2025: to consolidate economic recovery, improve employment conditions, deepen administrative reform, and pursue deeper integration into national development.

He said that infrastructure connectivity within the Greater Bay Area will be further enhanced, and Macao will further enrich its role as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Sam said the SAR government will move forward with several major infrastructure projects, including an international education (university) city, the Macao international integrated tourism and cultural zone, an international aviation hub along the Pearl River, and a science and technology R&D industrial park.