The Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation Between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao) set up a Portuguese-speaking Countries’ Pavilion at the ‘Dynamic Macao Business and Trade Fair’ held from November 12 to 14 in Qingdao, Shangdong Province. The activity aimed to encourage municipalities and provinces in Mainland China to make use of Macao’s role as a platform, in order to facilitate further the economic and commercial cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

While in Qingdao, the Coordinator of the Support Office to the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao, Ms Teresa Mok, took part in meetings between officials of Macao and of Qingdao. She also attended the opening ceremony of the ‘Dynamic Macao Business and Trade Fair’; and participated in an exchange session on tourism between Qingdao and Macao. Ms Mok also took the opportunity to: exchange insights with local companies; visit Haier’s industrial facility for online operations “COSMO Plat”; and see the “Qingdao Beer Museum”, described as the first museum in China dedicated to beer.

During the Fair, the Permanent Secretariat of Forum Macao installed the Portuguese-speaking Countries’ Pavilion, at Hall 1 of the Qingdao International Convention and Exhibition Center. The main goals of the Pavilion were to promote Forum Macao, and the advantages of Macao’s role as a platform for cross-border trade and co-operation, and to provide information on the eight Portuguese-speaking Countries: Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste. 

These activities further raised the profile of Forum Macao and promoted Macao’s role as a platform for cross-border trade and cooperation. They also helped to provide the local business community with more details on the business environments and benefits of investing in Portuguese-speaking Countries, promoting cooperation between companies from Mainland China, Macao and Portuguese-speaking Countries.