Irene Lau Kuan-va, president of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, said the positioning of Macao as a "core engine" in the Greater Bay Area blueprint shows the trust and expectations by the central government in Macao's role in the national project.

With the Greater Bay Area bringing "unprecedented" opportunities for Macao, the SAR should leverage its unique strengths to take active part in its development to promote diversified development of its economy and strengthen economic and trade cooperation between China and international markets, especially Portuguese-speaking areas, Lau said.

She also stressed the need for developing innovation and technology in Macao.

"We should pursue development of the Guangzhou-Shen-zhen-Hong Kong-Macao innovation and technology corridor, which jointly develops a big data center as well as platforms for international innovation in the Greater Bay Area," Lau added.