Macao and Qingdao will be strengthening ties for the rest of this month, with formal trade exchanges and a fun beer fest.
The 2nd Macau-Qingdao Beer & Cultural Festival and the 1st Macau-Qingdao Week kicked off yesterday at Wynn Palace in Cotai.
Starring Tsingtao beer as well as brews from Macao and Portugal, the fest is taking place at Wynn Palace South Entrance from 6 pm to 12 am until 31 December.
During the Macau-Qingdao Week, visitors will be able to experience Qingdao agricultural products such as Jiaozhou cabbage and cultural and creative products like sugar paintings, as well as intangible cultural heritage handicrafts such as paper-cuttings.
The event is co-hosted by Wynn Resorts and the Macau Leisure Tourism Services Innovation Association, in conjunction with Tsingtao Brewery, Qingdao Huangdao Development and Macau Beer.
Macao Government Tourism Office Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said that the event showcases both “tourism+culture” and “tourism+gastronomy” from Qingdao and Macao, and aims to boost the exchange of ideas between the two cities, while maximising the unique advantages of each destination.
Deng Yunfeng, deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China Qingdao Committee, said: “At this year’s event, Qingdao is showcasing close to 20 speciality products and intangible cultural heritage handicrafts to give Macao residents a better understanding of Qingdao and to establish an important brand network between the two cities.”
Deng added that he expected the event to be held every year to help Qingdao open up to the outside world, while giving Macao the opportunity to boost its economy in “a much more diversified way” and to “actively integrate into” the overall development of the country.
Tsingtao Brewery was founded in Qingdao, which was then under German administration, in 1903.
Meanwhile, aiming to bring local, Qingdao and Portuguese-speaking Countries’ (PSC) entrepreneurs together in Macao to share their ideas and explore potential opportunities for cooperation and development in the future, the organisers hosted The 1st Macau-Qingdao Week Exchange Session for Qingdao-Macau and Portuguese-speaking Countries.
The director-general of the Office of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs of the CPC Qingdao Committee, Xiao Yanheng, said that the event brings Qingdao and Macao enterprises together, with the aim of expanding the PSC markets and raising economic and trade ties between the two cities to a new level.
Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) Acting President Vincent U U Sang said that as an international port city, Qingdao plays a “unique” role as an international transit hub in the Bohai Economic Rim, while Macao is a key city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, adding that both Macao and Qingdao have maintained close economic and trade ties for a long time.
In the future, U said, IPIM will continue to partner with economic and trade organisations and enterprises in Qingdao to assist in “attracting investments” from PSCs for investments and developments in Qingdao, The Macau Post Daily reported.
