Liverpool has signed another international partnership to boost inward investment and further cement our position as a global city.
The It’s Liverpool in China Partnership business aims to forge stronger links with China and encourage inward investment, and a number of organisations are already signed up, including The Peel Group, China-Britain Business Council, UKTI, Liverpool and Sefton Chambers of Commerce and Liverpool City Region LEP.
Led by Liverpool Vision, the group has been working closely with China since leading the city region’s efforts at the Shanghai Expo in 2010.
The University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores and Liverpool Hope are also actively involved in the hope that we can continue to attract international students to Liverpool, who have become so important to our economic growth.
The group’s activities will include partner trade missions to China, putting Liverpool firmly on China’s travel trade map and securing Chinese delegations and events ahead of the International Festival for Business 2016.
The partnership will optimise the city’s Memorandum of Understanding with Shanghai, and co-ordinators hope to work with contact in China to host an ‘Invest Liverpool’ event in the Shanghai later this year.
Max Steienberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision and chair of the new body, said:
“There are a lot of organisations here who have a clear focus on China. You only need look at the number of Chinese students who choose Liverpool, the high volume of consumer tourists and the work done by companies such as Peel. However until now, there was nothing which channelled these efforts across education, property and tourism into one cohesive offer to be presented to China and state the city’s case.
“We have a defined set of actions and objectives, which are all achievable in the short-term but will hopefully reap long-term rewards for Liverpool. And it’s not a closed club; we encourage any local businesses with Chinese aspirations to get involved.”