On 27 November, Kevin Ho, deputy to the National People’s Congress of China and chairman of Macao Youth Entrepreneurship International Group, delivered a keynote speech titled “Enhance Exchange and Cooperation and Shoulder Responsibilities for Global Prosperity” at the Opening Ceremony of the Asia Youth Leaders Forum 2021.

The full speech is as below.

Distinguished leaders and young friends,

Hello! I'm glad to attend this forum and have discussions with outstanding youth from across Asia. Taking this opportunity, I would like to express a warm welcome to friends from afar, representatives from related organizations, and young entrepreneurs! We are witnessing major changes unfolding in our world, something unseen in a century. Fluctuations of the global COVID-19 pandemic have brought more instability and uncertainties to the development of Asia and the globe. At this important moment, how youth, as the most active and vigorous force in society, can further enhance communication and cooperation, share the responsibilities of the times, and promote global development is a key issue in the world.

At the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which adjourned not long ago, it was explicitly stated that with the determination to never let up until we reach our goals and the attitude that the last leg of the journey is no different from the halfway point, we must make unremitting efforts to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. I think whether it is the realization of our goals or advancement of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Chinese youth must have a strong sense of responsibility in the new era, and align our own development closely with the country's development. Only through contributing to the overall national development can we realize better development of our own.

Speaking of Macao, as everyone knows, over the past 20-plus years since Macao returned to China, with the central government's earnest attention, the special administrative region's active actions, and the joint efforts from all sectors of the community, Macao has achieved remarkable development and shown the world the successful practice of "one country, two systems" with Macao's characteristics. Macao's good environment and conditions provide residents, especially the younger generation, with unprecedented opportunities for development; further enhance the confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of "one country, two systems"; and will help accelerate the peaceful reunification of our motherland.

The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area injects new driving force into the long-term development of Macao and our country. It is explicitly stated in the plan that the development of the Greater Bay Area is not only a new effort to break new grounds in pursuing opening up on all fronts in a new era, but also a new practice of "one country, two systems". China is accelerating the transition to "dual-circulation" development, which allows the domestic and overseas markets to reinforce each other with the domestic market as the mainstay. During this process, the importance of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, one of the areas with the highest degrees of opening up and strongest economic vitality, is self-evident.

Macao, as one of the core cities in the Greater Bay Area, bears the important missions of promoting the development of the Greater Bay Area and advancing "one country, two systems". As a young man from Macao, I want to make a contribution to the development of our country. I look forward to communicating and cooperating with young friends from all over Asia, learning with an open mind, establishing effective connections, and uniting young forces at this forum.

As youth from Macao, over the years, we've been thinking how to make greater contributions to the development of Macao and our country. In 2017, I joined hands with 34 young entrepreneurs from the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau, Macau Youth Entrepreneur Association, and Macao Panyu Association to launch the "Macao Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project". In 2018, the Guangdong & Macau Young Entrepreneurs International Industrial Accelerator, the first project we implemented in Guangdong, was put into operation in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center. We hope to further enhance the interconnection of resources, cooperation, and communication between young entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area. We also hope to tap into the resources of the industrial and commercial circles of Macao; the Macao Special Administrative Region; the Research Institute of Tsinghua, Pearl River Delta; universities in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center; and incubators and makerspaces to cultivate a group of leading tech companies, particularly in the fields of internet technologies, industrial big data, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, new energy, and new materials, through integrated incubation, acceleration, and implementation. In so doing, we aim to link up the developmental plans for Macao and the whole country.

To help Macao build a service platform for the cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, our company has extended our investment to cover Portuguese-speaking countries, including Global Media Group, a Portuguese media. Through research we found that Macao investors usually invest in manufacturing and real estate projects, which cannot demonstrate the role of Macao as a platform. It is known to all that media is one of the outstanding channels we can make use of. Therefore, we expect to leverage this platform for cultural exchange and deepening economic cooperation between Macao and Portuguese-speaking regions.

These are some personal practices and thoughts I've had over these years. I also know that with the constant improvement of China's national strength and international status, China is moving unprecedentedly closer to the world's center stage and becoming increasingly influential in the world. During this process, how Macao, as a part of China, can make greater contributions to our country is a question we youth must answer.

It is explicitly stated in the 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development and Long-Range Objectives through the Year 2035 that we should facilitate access to education, employment, and entrepreneurship in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area for youth from Hong Kong and Macao and implement good programmes for the exchange between youngsters in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. It can be expected that Macao youth will have greater and greater space for development in the Greater Bay Area. During the process of participating in the development of the Greater Bay Area and our country, youth should think more about how to make use of the functions and the series of preferential policies our country gives to Macao to help Macao fully play its role as an international bridge and do a better job in telling China's stories through showing the world Macao's successful practice of "one country, two systems".

In the end, I wish this forum every success! I wish everyone good health and a happy family! Thank you!