Zhang Qian, Wang Bei

zhqcindy@163.com

LED by the city’s Party chief Wang Weizhong, a delegation from Shenzhen visited Germany from June 19 to 22 with the aim to strengthen ties with German cities and institutions, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

On June 19, Wang attended a promotion meeting of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in Munich.

In his speech, Wang said China and Germany have been keeping a close strategic relationship and deepening ties with each other in recent years. Shenzhen hopes to expand cooperation with Germany in more areas, he said.

Wang gave an introduction to the construction blueprint and social and economic development plan of the Greater Bay Area, a national-level strategy.

Shenzhen hopes to invite Bavaria and other regions of Germany to jointly develop the Greater Bay Area in fields such as trade, investment, scientific research, education, culture and tourism, thereby bolstering the friendly relationship between China and Germany, Wang said.

An array of cooperative deals focusing on vocational education were signed by Shenzhen Polytechnic, the Bao’an District People’s Government, Ulm TFU Technology Incubator and the Steinbeis Foundation  in Munich.

The deals will bring governments, universities, industries and companies from both sides together for better vocational education development in the Greater Bay Area.

According to the deals, a base of vocational education will be built at Shenzhen Polytechnic. The two German partners will collaborate with the university as well as the Bao’an government to explore and develop a vocational education system with Chinese characteristics.

The Shenzhen delegation arrived at Nuremberg on June 21 and attended a welcome ceremony held by the local government. Wang invited Nuremberg businesses to participate in building and developing the Greater Bay Area.

During his visit, Wang met with officials from various government departments from Bavaria and Munich. Both Shenzhen and German officials agreed on enhancing ties in technology, creative cultural industries and education.

The Bavarian side welcomed the visitors and said they wish to open direct flights and send students to Shenzhen for exchange programs.

Wang also witnessed the signing of cooperative deals by Siemens, BYD and Shenzhen Technology University. The German firm will work with BYD in digitalization and set up an internship base for intelligent manufacturing at SZTU.

During the visit, the Shenzhen delegation also paid visits to Huawei Technology’s branch office in Munich and the German TV manufacturer Metz.