Mayoral Delegations to Asia

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Mayor Celia Wade-Brown meets the Mayor of Sakai in July 2011.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown meets the Mayor of Sakai in July 2011

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Beijing

Mayor Wade-Brown, with Councillor Jo Coughlan, will lead a delegation of Wellington businesses to Beijing, to attend the inaugural China International Fair for Trade in Services. The delegation leaves on Saturday 26 May and returns on Sunday 3 June 2012.

Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong has invited Mayor Wade-Brown due to Wellington's strong Sister City relationship with Beijing and has offered to cover the cost of flights, accommodation and other expenses for the Mayor.

Already, 20 businesses have expressed interest in joining the delegation.

Benefits to Businesses

There are benefits to getting your business involved in the delegation:

  • New Zealand mayors can play an important role in opening doors in China as mayors of Chinese cities have significant political power and influence.
  • A business delegation led by a high-ranking political figure gets more traction (NZ Inc China Strategy).

The Gibson Group, who attended the 2011 delegation and are closely considering joining the May 2012 delegation, recently said they were developing a contract to design a significant new exhibition for a major municipal museum in China - a direct result of meetings set up during the last Mayoral Delegation.

2011 Delegation to China & Japan

In July 2011, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown and Councillor Jo Coughlan led a 31-member delegation to China and Japan.

The delegation's aim on the 10-day trip was to grow relationships and consolidate business and cultural ties with these countries.

The delegation visited Sakai in Japan and Beijing, Tianjin, Xiamen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong in China.

To view photos of the delegation's trip, see:

2011 Mayoral Trip to China and Japan - Flickr website

Delegation Members

The delegation members represented local businesses including those in healthcare, TV production, IT and renewable energy. The delegation also included representatives from Victoria University, Massey University, Whitireia Polytechnic and Te Papa.

Delegation Members (60Kb PDF) | Text version (15Kb RTF)

Focal Points

In particular, the trip focused on:

  • city-to-city relations
  • business opportunities
  • smart and green technologies
  • a direct long-haul air connection between Wellington and south-east Asia.

After the Trip

Direct Air Flights to Asia

Developing a Long-haul Attraction Fund is one of the priorities in the Council's Economic Development Strategy to help secure direct flights from Wellington to Asia by 2013.

Gift of 100 Mountain Bikes

The Mayor of Beijing, Guo Jinlong gifted 100 mountain bikes to Wellington. The gift of the bicycles was to recognise that 2011 is the 5th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Wellington and Beijing.

Background Information

The delegation was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce.

This report on the trip was presented to Council's Strategy and Policy Committee:

Report Back on Mayoral Delegation to China and Japan in July 2011 (80Kb PDF)

Importance of Trade with China

New Zealand signed a free-trade agreement with China in 2008 - and was the first developed country to do so. Since then, business between the two nations has boomed.

China has overtaken the United States as New Zealand's second-largest export market.

Related Links

Department Details:
International Relations (Executive Strategy)

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