Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

A DELEGATION from the English city of Salford in Greater Manchester led by Mayor Paul Dennett met with Shenzhen Vice Mayor Wang Lixin to express their interest in developing a relationship with Shenzhen at the Civic Center on Thursday.

Wang first extended a welcome to the delegation and briefed them on Shenzhen’s recent achievements in fields including economy, business environment, high technology and innovation, and presented basic information about the city’s industries, infrastructure construction and talent introduction.

“Last year, the total trade volume between Shenzhen and the United Kingdom reached nearly 6 billion yuan (US$0.87 billion),” said Wang, adding that the tie will create more cooperation opportunities in the future.

“Shenzhen welcomes enterprises to visit Shenzhen and we look forward to strengthening cooperation with Salford in fields including economy, technology, culture and tourism,” Wang added.

Dennett said during the meeting that Salford share similarities with Shenzhen in terms of things that matter to the city’s development.

“Sectors such as high technology, cultural creativity, logistics and new materials are considered important to the economic future by both of us,” said Dennett, suggesting that not only Salford but also Greater Manchester welcomed bilateral cooperation in these aspects.

This is the first time that Dennett has visited Shenzhen. Dennett said one thing that has been interesting since his arrival in Shenzhen is the people-centered purpose, which is also something that his city believes in.

“In my city, a saying presented at the city council is that the wealth of the people is the highest law,” said Dennett. “I share your values, beliefs and philosophy, so I think together we can collaborate and develop a better world for both our cities.”

Wang wishes to have more exchanges between the two sides in the future.

The delegation also attended the 2019 Shenzhen Smart City Forum during their visit.