Editing One country, two systems (section)

===In the context of Macau===
{{main|History of Macau}}
A [[Portuguese Macau|colony of Portugal]] for 442 years from 1557, [[Macau]] was [[handover of Macau|returned to the Chinese government]] in 1999. In the [[Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau]], the drafting and adoption of Macau's [[Macau Basic Law|mini-constitution]] before its return was foreseen. Like Hong Kong, a basic law would ensure that Macau retained its economic system, currency (the [[Macanese pataca]]), [[Law of Macau|legal system]] (which is based on Portuguese civil law), [[Legislative Council of Macau|legislative system]], and people's rights and freedom for 50 years, as a special administrative region (SAR) of China. Set to expire in 2049, the agreement has permitted Macau to function as its own entity in many international settings (e.g. [[World Trade Organization|WTO]]) rather than as a part of China. 

As Macau has its own currency, the Chinese renminbi is not legal tender in Macau; the pataca is also not accepted in stores in China.<ref>{{cite web |title=人民币是澳门特别行政区的法定货币吗？ |url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/zhuanti/aomen/lawabc/part6-7.html |website=[[China News Service]] |access-date=6 April 2025}}</ref> With this agreement, a permit or visa is required when crossing between the borders of Macau and China, and people in Macau generally hold [[Macau SAR passport]]s rather than mainland Chinese passports. Like Hong Kong, the [[Languages of Macau|official languages]] are a major factor that has made Macau and China distinct from each other besides the [[History of Macau|history of the former colony]], as Cantonese and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] are the official languages in Macau, while Mandarin is the official language of China. The central government in Beijing also maintains control over Macau's foreign affairs as well as the legal interpretation of the Basic Law.