Bond with China set to strengthen thanks to Shanghai link

Sep 27 2007 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

Bond with China set to strengthen thanks to Shanghai link

THE organisers of a visit to Liverpool by a high-powered delegation from Shanghai say they are confident it will lead to more Chinese investment in Merseyside.

The visit is being co-ordinated by the Liverpool-Shanghai Partnership (LSP) as part of the twinning arrangement between the two cities. It follows an earlier visit to Shanghai in July by a delegation of Liverpool businessmen and city leaders.

Yesterday the delegation met Liverpool City Council’s leader Warren Bradley and chief executive Colin Hilton. Today the Chinese visitors will tour the Pier Head, the commercial district, the Albert Dock and Mathew Street, as well as meeting representatives from the Bibby Line Group and Liverpool Vision.

Luo He Qing, of the Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board, said he was “enormously impressed” with Liverpool’s development.

LSP spokesman Dr Kerry Brown said: “Liverpool is hugely privileged to have this twinning relationship which gives us a substantial advantage over other British cities trading with China.

“Our relationship presents massive investment and export opportunities for both Liverpool and Shanghai blazing a trail into the future.

“Liverpool is ideally placed to become the gateway to not only Britain but Europe for Shanghai’s ambitious, powerful and ever-growing business community.”