- Incheon continues to discuss ongoing cooperation and friendly relations between the two cities -

Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor: Yoo Jeong-bok) announced that Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok met with a delegation from China, including Qingdao Mayor Zhao Haozhi, on their visit to Incheon Metropolitan City Hall on April 10 in order to discuss possible ways to strengthen the friendly ties and cooperation between the two cities.

Incheon and Qingdao have been active partners since September 1995, working together in various fields such as economy, trade, ports, logistics, culture, and human resources.

In 2015, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Friendship City Agreement with Qingdao, Mayor Yoo visited Qingdao on his trip to stimulate tourism and economic cooperation between Incheon and some of China’s largest cities.

Meanwhile, Qingdao is a leading industrial city in Shandong Province, China. It is home to traditional industries such as textiles, machinery, automobiles, chemicals, and beer, as well as emerging industries such as marine, bio, new energy, and eco-friendly industries. The city has the largest contingent of Koreans living in China, and is also a popular destination for Korean tourists traveling to China.

Mayor Zhao Haozhi said, “I visited Incheon for the first time in three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am grateful for the warm welcome.” He added, “Given that Qingdao and Incheon are so close geographically, we hope to work together across a variety of different fields such as port logistics and the exchange of human resources.”

In response, Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said, “I hope that our city can further strengthen our friendly ties with Qingdao, and I am confident my meeting with Mayor Zhao Haozhi will serve as a foundation for new collaborative projects in the fields of economy, port, logistics, culture, and the exchange of human resources between the two cities going forward.”