China's national flags and flags of the Macao Special Administrative Region are seen near the Oriental Arch monument in Macao, south China, Dec. 17, 2019. Over the past two decades, the special administrative region has made great strides in economic development and achieved prosperity and stability under the "one country, two systems" principle. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

 
President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China will not allow any external forces to interfere with Hong Kong and Macao affairs.

The Chinese government and the Chinese people's will to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests are rock hard, Xi said at a gathering in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland.

"I want to stress here that, after the return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland, the affairs of the two special administrative regions are completely China's internal affairs, which need no finger-pointing from any external forces," he said.