The Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies (ABCAS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China’s Qingdao Vocational and Technical College of Hotel Management, establishing what delegation leaders described as the first overseas Chinese cuisine college in the Caribbean and formally launching cooperation in culinary arts, tourism management and vocational education.

The signing ceremony, held at the Muriel O’Marde Campus and brokered by the Chinese Embassy in Antigua and Barbuda alongside the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry (WFCCI), drew a delegation from China to meet ABCAS leadership, the institution’s Board of Trustees, faculty and hospitality students.

Dr E. Jonah Greene, President of ABCAS, opened the ceremony, stating that the arrangement was a strategic necessity rather than a symbolic gesture.

“Partnerships like this, they are not optional anymore. They are necessary partnerships,” Greene told those gathered, adding that institutional collaboration exposes students to new standards, ideas and cultures.

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

Greene pushed the message further toward the hospitality students seated in the audience.

“Don’t just sit on the edges of this opportunity. Step into it. Ask questions. Be curious. Push yourself,” she said, cautioning that “opportunities like this don’t change your life unless you use them.”

The ABCAS President also promoted Chinese cuisine as a serious discipline within the institution’s existing international cuisine curriculum.

“Chinese cuisine is not just a sidebar. It’s not just what we pick up on the marketplace,” Greene said, urging students to appreciate “the discipline and the culture behind what you are learning.”

Chinese Ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda, Her Excellency Jiang Wei, who was making her second visit to the campus in as many weeks, told the audience the signing followed through on student interest raised during her earlier engagement.

“Some students told me that they wanted to study something about Chinese cuisine. So today, as a field of my commitment, I would like to thank the masters of Chinese cuisine here,” the Ambassador said.

Dishes prepared during the Chinese culinary demonstration at the Muriel O’Marde Campus of the Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies (photo by Robert Emmanuel)

Ambassador Jiang Wei framed the cooperation within the wider trajectory of China–Antigua and Barbuda relations.

“China and Antigua and Barbuda, although very far in distance, but very close in our relationship, and our cooperation has been deepening since the establishment of the diplomatic relationship,” she said, noting that ties already spanning politics, economics, tourism and cultural education would now extend into tourism management, culinary cooperation and vocational education.

Presenting the Qingdao institution to the gathering, Wu Li, Vice President of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry, outlined the college’s scale and history.

Founded on a lineage dating back to 1945, the Qingdao Vocational and Technical College of Hotel Management holds the distinction of being China’s first independent specialised college of hotel management and serves as a pilot institution for China’s national double high-level programme.

According to Wu Li, the college spans 44 hectares and enrols 14,000 full-time students served by 850 staff across eight secondary schools, including schools of Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts, Culture and Tourism, Hotel Engineering, Business Administration, Accounting, Information Engineering Technology and Arts

The institution offers 38 higher vocational majors and has twice been named among the top 50 most influential vocational colleges in China.

Wu Li was explicit about the regional significance of the ABCAS agreement.

photo by Robert Andre Emmanuel

The Qingdao college has already established three overseas Chinese cuisine colleges and maintains cooperation with more than 20 institutions across over 10 countries, he said, positioning Antigua and Barbuda as the prospective fourth overseas location and the first in the Caribbean.

“This is our first time come to Caribbean,” Wu Li told the audience, crediting Ambassador Jiang Wei with brokering the arrangement through a friendship dating back to her previous diplomatic posting.

Head Chef Fu Xueping, President of the Changzhou Cooking Food Industry Association, used his exchange session to outline four areas of proposed collaboration.

The first, he said, involves senior Chinese chefs conducting professional training and exchanges to help the Caribbean nurture local talent in Jiangnan cuisine and Chinese culinary arts.

The second focuses on fusion recipe development combining local Caribbean ingredients with Chinese techniques.

Fu Xueping identified industrial development as the third pillar, covering supply chain expertise and operational management to support Chinese catering growth in the region.

The fourth, he said, centres on cultural exchange through regular food festivals, culinary forums and demonstrations.

“Food knows no borders. Cooperation builds the future,” Fu Xueping said, describing the Changzhou tradition he represents as a key branch of Huaiyang cuisine built on seasonal freshness and balanced seasoning.

The Head Chef closed his remarks by casting the visit as a starting point rather than an endpoint.

“Looking ahead, we wish to take this visit as a new starting point to deepen our cooperation, allowing more friends to experience the charm of Chinese cuisine, and writing a new chapter of friendship between China and the Caribbean,” he said.

Following the signing, the delegation moved to the Muriel O’Marde Campus demo kitchen for a culinary demonstration in which Chef Fu Xueping and his team prepared two signature Chinese dishes and interacted with hospitality students.