New platform to boost Qingdao, South Korea cooperation

The Qingdao-South Korea International Business Club, a new platform specially designed to facilitate the entry of Korea-related projects, enterprises and business associations into the Chinese market, as well as Chinese investment in South Korea, was launched on June 23 in Chengyang district, Qingdao.

Wang Qingxian, Party Chief of Qingdao, and Park Jin-hsiung, the consul-general of the Consulate General of South of Korea in Qingdao, attended the launch ceremony.

Eight key projects worth $270 million in investment were signed during the ceremony.

Located near the Consulate-General of South Korea in Qingdao, the business club measures 200,000 square meters. Its first phase, which covers 20,000 square meters and houses 63 Korean organizations, business associations and enterprises, has already begun operations.

Another element of the club will be the 5,000-sq-m China-South Korea (Qingdao) Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base, which is designed to foster new materials, high-end manufacturing, financial investment, fashion design and other industries as well as build a youth innovation, entrepreneurship and exchange platform for the two countries.

Also part of the club is the 75,000-square-meter China-South Korea high-end technology industrial park, which will introduce cultural creativity, industrial design, international trade and internationally renowned third-party service institutions from South Korea.

A comprehensive support area is under construction as well. Covering 100,000 square meters, the area consists of business service providers such as banks, incubators, mass innovation spaces, law firms and financing institutions as well as high-end business hotels, talent apartments and a convention and exhibition center.

"The business club will focus on market display and trading, industry and talent cooperation, big data interaction, intellectual property protection, financial innovation and professional services," said Sun Shuangqun, president of Chengyang district sub-council for the promotion of international trade.

Sun said that the club will promote industrial, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges and cooperation between South Korea and China, and create a new platform for international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

An online business service center has also been opened to promote Shandong's 16 cities and facilitate online exchanges and cooperation with South Korea.