How they became twin city?
— — the story between Liverpool and Shanghai
Liverpool is a port city located in the northwest of England, and Shanghai is the most developed Pearl City in the southeast coast of China. Although the two cities are far apart, they have many similarities as international cities, including the port and waterfront; close to the sea and trade industries and the history of innovation and change. Liverpool has the oldest Chinese community in Europe dating back to the mid-19th century. The majority of Chinese settled in Liverpool are seafarers from Shanghai.
In October 1999, a delegation from Liverpool visited Shanghai to organize “Liverpool Week” activities. On 18, Shanghai Mayor Kuangdi Xu and Mike Stolligan, Chairman of the Liverpool Municipal Council, jointly signed the agreement on the relationship between twins’ cities.
Since then, many changes have taken place in the city of Liverpool. Everyone who travels to Liverpool will notice the Chinese style arcade, which stands at the intersection of Chinatown in Liverpool. In fact, this archway is also the Shanghai government and Liverpool government to build. In January 2000, China City Archway has become an important landmark of Liverpool.
In October 2008, When China succeeded in hosting the Olympic Games, Shanghai opened to host the World Expo. As the twins’ city of Shanghai, Liverpool succeeded in seizing the opportunity to show the world the new look of its city. The case of Liverpool City, “Heritage Conservation and Reuse” decided to participate in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo Urban Best Practice Area show.
Liverpool Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo
Photo by Shangqi Li
2010 Shanghai World Expo was officially held. In May, a Liverpool delegation was invited to visit Shanghai to attend the opening ceremony of the World Expo and to open the Liverpool Pavilion in the city’s best practice area. As the twins’ city of Shanghai, Liverpool is the only British city outside London to be invited to the Shanghai World Expo. Peel Waters, a large-scale UK-based real estate development, transportation and energy Development Company, held a media briefing at the Expo Liverpool Pavilion to launch Peel Waters, the largest exhibitor in the Shanghai World Expo, which is the largest in the UK Urban regeneration plan, its total investment within 30 years will reach 10 billion pounds.
Liverpool Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo
Photo by Mayi Heiqishi
As part of the multibillion-pound Liverpool Waters development in Liverpool, they are planning to build a Shanghai tower. Princes Half Tide Dock, the proposed site of Liverpool’s Shanghai Tower. If this tower built it will become the tallest building in the United Kingdom. Shanghai Tower is expected to be completed in 2025.
Shanghai tower simulation image
Photo by Shenzhen Construction network
Behind these large-scale cooperation projects are many cooperation experiences and trust accumulation of many small companies from both countries. According to Mary, a staff member from a joint venture company at Liverpool said: “Our company started cooperation with the Shanghai company before establishing diplomatic relations with the two cities. The establishment of diplomatic relations gave us more policy support for cooperation. From the beginning of the small project, we now have millions of national projects work together, and we are steadily gaining trust in companies from Shanghai, and Shanghai companies have also left us with the impression of high efficiency, good quality and good service. “
In March 2015, Liverpool Vision signed a MOU with their equivalent organisation in Shanghai namely Invest Shanghai. The MOU was signed by the Vice Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Gary Millar and Mr. Fang SUN, Director, Shanghai FID European Division. The MOU re-enforces the relationship the two cities have had during the long twin city relationship.
Shortly after that, the Mayor of Liverpool visited the Shanghai government in 2017 again and the two sides held talks on strengthening friendly cooperation and further stabilizing the twin cities.
Weifang Fu, secretary-general of TOP100 corporate event organizing committee, and Jenny, president of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce enthusiastically talked.
Photo by TOP100 online
