On December 23, 2024, an online seminar on the theme of "Macao 25 Years On: Economic Achievements and Insights" was successfully held, with the event having been co-organized by Tsinghua University's Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking (ACCEPT), the Society for the Analysis of Government and Economics (SAGE) and the Macau University of Science and Technology's Institute of Development Economics (IDE). During the seminar's proceedings, an academic report entitled "Macao 25 Years On: Economic Achievements and Insights—Summary from the Perspective of Government and Economics" was released. The report, which was co-authored by Tsinghua University's ACCEPT and the Macau University of Science and Technology's IDE, adopted perspectives from the field of government and economics in order to examine the economic logic behind Macao's economic achievements, including by exploring the impacts on economic development associated with the protection of property rights, the operating environment for businesses, the institutionalization of the legal system, investments into education, the training of skilled labor, etc., in addition to making mention of the challenges young people in Macao currently face when it comes to purchasing housing.
David Daokui Li, Director of Tsinghua University's ACCEPT and Co-President of SAGE; Francis Lui, Director of the Macau University of Science and Technology's IDE; Liu Peilin, Chief Researcher of ACCEPT; Li Ke'aobo, Executive Deputy Director of ACCEPT; and Song Yu, Assistant Director of IDE, were in attendance at the seminar and each delivered a speech. Chen Jimin, Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Member of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Committee for the CPPCC, and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Macau University of Science and Technology's University Council, delivered opening remarks to commence the event's proceedings.
Chen Jimin remarked that over the past 25 years since Macao's return to China, all sectors of society have continued striving ahead based on premise of strictly abiding by the Constitution and the Basic Law, making all-round progress in various domains while significantly enhancing its international influence. "One country, two systems" has proven to be a favorable institutional layout that conforms to the fundamental interests of the country and its people as a whole as well as those of Macao. The process of Macao's return to China also coincides with the course of events that have defined the Macau University of Science and Technology during the period following its establishment and eventual expansion. Since its inception in 2000, the Macau University of Science and Technology has continued to develop at a rapid pace. The university has tallied many achievements: including the successful launch of the Macao Science-1 space science satellite program; the appointment of Professor Erwin Neher, Nobel laureate and biophysicist, alongside other leading international experts joining the university's faculty; and the establishment of the Zhuhai MUST Science and Technology Research Institute, a comprehensive and international industry-academia-research demonstration base integrating scientific research, industrial innovation and combined talent. All these achievements showcase the successes of higher education in Macao and the dynamic practice of adhering to the principle of "one country" while giving full play to the advantages of "two systems."
David Daokui Li pointed out that in the 25 years since its return to China, Macao's overall economy and per capita income have increased eightfold, having achieved an average annual growth rate of 9.3%. Meanwhile, the personal income tax rate for residents with an annual income of less than 300,000 Macanese patacas remains within the range of only 3% to 9%, and since the period after 2008, residents have also enjoyed cash handouts from yearly budgetary surpluses, with each Macao resident receiving an average annual allocation amounting to approximately 8,000 to 9,000 yuan, all of which can be regarded as truly miraculous. The surplus in the Social Security Fund administered by the special administrative region's government is sufficient to support pensions for retirees and individual medical expenses for the next 50 years, with the region's fiscal situation being comparatively loose. Moreover, the government's support for the market, scientific decision-making, and its stable and professional mode of governance all represent key success factors for the region. Li further stressed that the Macau University of Science and Technology has made outstanding contributions in various high-tech fields, such as lunar exploration, over the past 25 years as a private university. The continuous investments that the special administrative region's government has made in basic and higher education as well as health and medical care has further laid a solid foundation for Macao's social and economic development.
Subsequently, Li Ke'aobo and Liu Peilin of Tsinghua University's ACCEPT proceeded to release the report and introduce its findings.
By way of a series of figures, Li Ke'aobo presented a detailed overview of the achievements Macao has made in the economic domain during the course of the 25 years since its return to China: a rapid expansion in overall GDP, with the region's per capita GDP having risen from 123,000 Macanese patacas in 1999 to 684,000 Macanese patacas in 2018; the creation of a large number of jobs, with the unemployment rate having undergone a continuous decline alongside an increase in the number of employed residents, climbing from around 200,000 in 1999 to 370,000 in 2023; and steady growth in fiscal revenues, with the region's fiscal surplus having followed an upward trajectory from 320 million Macanese patacas in 1999 to 90.6 billion Macanese patacas in 2023.
Liu Peilin made mention of the fact that after Macao's return to China, and with the support of the central government, a series of policy adjustments were duly carried out that included cracking down on crime and improving public order, in addition to reforming the regulation of the gambling industry and introducing mechanisms for improved market competition, improvements that touched off a remarkable reversal in Macao's law and order. The gambling industry has proven to be the region's most direct source of income, with Macao having since become the single largest host market in the world for this industry. In addition to the gambling industry, emerging industries such as tourism, conventions and exhibitions, finance, culture and sports, and traditional Chinese medicine have also developed rapidly, with the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin having put into place favorable conditions for the continued diversification of the region's industry sectors. At the same time, the special administrative region's government has continuously boosted its investment into education, including providing residents with access to 15 years of free education, which has in turn fostered the creation of a high-quality labor force contributing to Macao's sustained economic development.
Francis Lui asserted that the enormous success that Macao's economy has achieved can be tracked back to various forms of policy support from the central government, especially with regards to the gambling industry. However, while the region is capable of attracting a large number of tourists from mainland China, there is nevertheless a need to remain wary of potential risks associated with capital outflows. Higher education in Macao has already reached a high level of development, although the region's relatively smaller population places limits on its continued expansion, which therefore underscores the need to cultivate a larger number of highly skilled talents with global competitiveness. Comparing the development paths of Hong Kong and Macao, Lui referred to differences in the fiscal reserves and administrative efficiency between the respective special administrative regions' governments. In addition, many of the political obstacles that have plagued the Hong Kong SAR government, especially the constraints placed on the chief executive by the Legislative Council, have now been more or less resolved, while the risk of external actors placing curbs on Macao's development remain relatively small.
Finally, Song Yu reflected on the experience of Macao's economic miracle from the perspective of its public housing policy. The special administrative region's government announced a five-year plan for the period from 2021 to 2025 that specifically proposed to make improvements to people's livelihoods, including by satisfying residents' basic housing needs. Among the proposals, 15.88 billion Macanese patacas were to be set aside for investments into the construction of public housing, with more than 14,000 public housing units currently under construction. At the same time, housing schemes for senior living communities and individuals or families in the "sandwich class," i.e., those priced out of the commercial real estate market who do not meet the requirements for subsidized public housing, have been promoted to raise residents' standard of living and provide new channels to access housing.
David Daokui Li (top-center) addresses attendees during the online seminar alongside speakers Li Ke'aobo (top-left), Francis Lui (top-right), Song Yu (bottom-left) and Liu Peilin (bottom-right).