Wirral officially joins forces with one of China’s weathiest cities

Oct 12 2011 by Liam Murphy, Birkenhead News

WIRRAL has officially joined forces with one of China’s wealthiest cities in a bid to promote jobs and investment in the borough.

Deputy leader of Wirral Council, Phil Davies, met with Wang Jianfeng, the mayor of Taicang in the Jiangsu Province and near Shanghai.

They have now signed a “sister city” agreement which commits them to “make concerted efforts, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, to promote people-to-people friendly contacts and economic and trade interflow between the two cities and actively carry out exchanges and cooperation in the fields of science and technology, culture sports, health, education.”

Speaking from Taicang, Cllr Davies said: “It is fantastic that the work begun in 2008 when (council leader) Steve Foulkes first visited Taicang has started to yield tangible results.

“There is enormous interest in the International Trade Centre which will deliver vital jobs to Wirral.

“The signing of our Sister City Agreement with Taicang will further drive forward our investment strategy and the delivery of the Wirral Waters project.”

A report presented to cabinet last month by interim director of corporate services, Kevin Adderley, also said a request had been made for a “sister city” relationship from nearby Jiang Yin.

Jiang Yin, also in Jiangsu Province – the same as Suzhou/Taicang – has been the most affluent city in China, as measured by GDP per head, for the past five years.

In his report, Mr Adderley said the agreement would be “building upon the financial partnership for the International Trade Centre (ITC)” being developed by Peel Holdings in Birkenhead docks, which recently received outline planning permission.

According to documents submitted in support of the application, the ITC would boost the local economy by up to £100m a year, create thousands of jobs and help kick-start the £4.5 billion Wirral Waters development.