A 300-member Macao delegation, led by Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), arrived in the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province Wednesday for the "2004 Macao Week".

The delegation, comprising government officials, entrepreneurs and tourism representatives from Macao, will take part in a series of exchange activities between the two sides in economic, trade, tourism, cultural, scientific and technological fields.

A picture show on the development of Macao's tourism, sports and cultural relics will also be staged during the "Macao Week".

Addressing the opening ceremony, Ho said that the seven-day event will not only provide a showcase to help people in Jiangsu to know more about Macao, but will provide a golden chance for the cooperation between the two sides.

Under the framework of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), Macao has enhanced economic cooperation and exchanges with the interior area and it would like to serve as a service platform not only for the Pearl River Delta in the south China region, but also for the Yangtze River Delta, where Jiangsu Province plays a crucial part in the economic growth of the area, said Ho.

The CEPA, which took effect on Jan. 1 this year, sets the legal framework for the endeavors to phase out tariffs and non-tariff goods trade barriers, phase in liberalization of services trade, and promote trade and investment facilitation for common development.

Jiangsu and Macao will beef up cooperation in trade and economy, encourage two-way investment, promote training for tourist and trade personnel, support economic cooperation between the small- and mid-sized enterprises from two sides and help the products made in Macao to enter the mainland market, said Li Yuanchao, secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Ho also visited the Nanjing Modern History Museum and the Mausoleum of Chinese revolutionary forerunner Sun Yat-sen on Wednesday.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2004)