Chinese President Xi Jinping left Macau on Friday after a three-day ceremonial visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the former Portuguese enclave’s handover to Chinese rule, after laying out his vision for the role the gambling hub will play in his plans to boost China’s flagging economy.
“Macau is a shining pearl inlaid on the coast of the South China Sea and a treasured part of our great motherland,” Xi said in his keynote speech marking Friday’s anniversary, and inaugurating the next city government. “The earliest Chinese students to go overseas went out to the world from here, many Chinese classics were translated and spread to the West, and modern Western science, technology and culture were introduced to mainland China via Macau,” he said.“At different times in history, Macau has played an important role and made unique contributions,” Xi said.
