Qingdao, Shandong province [Photo/VCG]

The "Qingdao-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Meeting" was held in Hong Kong on May 29. As an important part of the "2023 Shandong Week in Hong Kong and Macao", the event was designed as a two-way investment bridge between Qingdao and Hong Kong to renew friendship, discuss cooperation, deepen exchanges and seek a common future.

Sponsored by the Qingdao municipal government and organized by the Qingdao municipal bureau of commerce, the event was supported by InvestHK, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and other departments and business associations.

Over 300 company representatives from China Merchants Group, China Resources Group, Everbright Group, UBS Group, Bank of China International, JP Morgan Chase, Deloitte, KPMG and other well-known enterprises attended the event.

A total of 15 projects involving high-end equipment, new energy and new materials, modern finance, cultural tourism and other fields were signed during the event, with a total investment of more than $2 billion.

In his speech, Qingdao Mayor Zhao Haozhi introduced the cooperation opportunities between the two cities from four aspects: economic development, industrial construction, urban construction and opening up advantages.

He said that Qingdao was one of the earliest cities on the Chinese mainland to carry out trade exchanges with Hong Kong, and Hong Kong has become an important economic and trade partner of Qingdao, as well as its largest source of foreign investment and most important international financing platform.

Qingdao enjoys sustained and healthy economic development, and has been working to accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system, improve urban functional quality, and enhance its advantages in opening to the outside world.

Hong Kong, backed by the motherland and connected to the world, has developed industries such as finance, trade and shipping, and has obvious advantages in electronic information, biomedicine and other technological fields, as well as a number of powerful enterprises, universities and research and development institutions with outstanding innovation ability.

"Hong Kong has strong industrial complementarity with Qingdao and great potential for cooperation. I hope that more Hong Kong entrepreneurs will gain an in-depth understanding of Qingdao and get to know it, so as to promote win-win cooperation," said Zhao.