President Xi Jinping said that the central government will fully support Sam Hou-fai, who was sworn in on Friday as the sixthterm chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and the new SAR government in fulfilling their duties.

Xi made the remark on Friday during a meeting with Sam in Macao. He expressed his confidence in Sam's ability to fulfill his duties conscientiously and live up to the responsibilities entrusted to him.

Xi also expressed the hope that Sam will unite and lead the new SAR government and people from all sectors of society to fully, faithfully and steadfastly implement the principles of "one country, two systems" and "Macao people governing Macao" with a high degree of autonomy, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.

He underlined the need for the SAR to vigorously advance the development of an appropriately diversified economy, continuously enhance the well-being of the people, and fully leverage Macao's unique position and advantages to better integrate into the nation's development landscape.

Efforts should be made to deepen exchanges and cooperation with various countries and regions, Xi said, urging Sam to make greater contributions to Macao's development.

Sam pledged to lead the new SAR government in uniting all sectors of society, and strive to create a new chapter in the successful practice of "one country, two systems" in Macao.