For almost as long as our city has existed, Chinese people have come to Melbourne seeking economic opportunities. Melbourne and the Chinese city of Tianjin have shared a special bond as sister cities for 30 years.
To celebrate this significant milestone the following activities have taken place:
Mayor of Tianjin and delegates visited Melbourne in June 2010
Mayor of Tianjin, Mr Huang Xingguo and over 135 delegates visited Melbourne. Mayor Huang’s Melbourne visit included:
- a visit with the Premier of Victoria
- a tour of Docklands and Melbourne’s heritage redevelopment projects
- an invitation as our guest of honour at the Australia China Business Council ‘Building Prosperity Together Melbourne–Tianjin luncheon’
- a commemorative signing of the Melbourne–Tianjin 30th anniversary declaration.
Business mission to China in October 2010
To mark the 30th anniversary, the City of Melbourne arranged a business mission to China in October, incorporating 20 representatives from some of Melbourne’s key industry sectors: higher education, health care and research, urban planning, professional services and environmental management.
Representative companies that attended the mission were:
Over six days, from 17 to 23 October, the delegation visited the cities of Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai and Wuxi presenting seminars and attending business events and cultural activities to share their knowledge and cement relations and business agreements.
The delegation was an important opportunity to:
- profile Melbourne’s capabilities and demonstrate our strengths in government to business leaders in Tianjin
- meet and establish relationships with companies and enterprises in China, providing inbound and outbound investment opportunities
- learn from Tianjin about designing ecologically sustainable cities.
Highlights of the delegation included:
- site visits to Air Bus and Alcan Alloy Products in Tianjin TEDA, business matching meetings as well as a visit to the Tianjin Medical University General Hospital
- meeting with key Tianjin dignitaries such as the Mayor of Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo, Executive Vice Mayor Ren Xuefeng and the opportunity to renew friendships with so many ‘old friends’ of the Melbourne Tianjin sister city relationship
- signing of seven memoranda of understanding in the fields of education, medical research, bio tech and architecture, including Melbourne-based architecture companies Hassell and LAB who signed memoranda of understanding with Tianjin Huanggang Industrial Company and Tianjin Hanwei Investment Development Company respectively.
Find out more about our sister city Melbourne-Tianjin.