MACAO—Xie Fuzhan, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered a speech at the international forum on the “Cultural Mission of the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area” on Aug. 12.

Advancing the construction of the Greater Bay Area will facilitate its support for and leadership of the national economy’s high-quality development, building a more open, new economic system, Xie said. It is also of great significance for Hong Kong and Macao to integrate into the overall development of the country, deepen the significance of “one country, two systems” and maintain long-term prosperity and stability.

Entering the new era, for Macao to take the construction of the Greater Bay Area as an opportunity to assume a new cultural mission, it needs to continue to make use of the advantages of its multiculturalism centered around Chinese culture, and it should continue to serve as a bridge facilitating cultural exchange between China and the world, giving a humanistic push for the common development of China and the world.

He suggested promoting Chinese culture and strengthening cultural confidence along with consolidating cultural support to promote the construction of the Greater Bay Area. In the construction of the Greater Bay Area, it is necessary to carry forward the Chinese spirit of all-embracing tolerance and the Chinese values of patriotism and self-improvement and to support the construction with cultural soft power.

Moreover, Xie suggested promoting communication and mutually beneficial cooperation. In-depth cultural exchanges in education, academia and among youth need to be carried out to build a stable social and cultural foundation for facilitating the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative and reciprocity. In addition, he suggested that Macao should make use of its unique advantages to tell the China story well. As a link between China and the West, Macao needs to spread the refined Chinese culture, tell the story of contemporary China and demonstrate the successful implementation of “one country, two systems” in Macao.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Macao’s return to China. In the past two decades, the Macao SAR Government has strictly followed the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Macao Basic Law to comprehensively and accurately implement the policies of “one country, two systems,” “Macao people running Macao” and a high degree of autonomy, achieving economic prosperity, political stability, the improvement of people’s livelihood, and social and cultural progress.

Xie said that he firmly believes that, relying on the institutional advantages of “one country, two systems” and the important opportunities brought about by the construction of the Greater Bay Area and the B&R, Macao will better integrate into the overall national development and play a bigger role in China’s new round of high-level opening up.