Taicang establishes friendly relations with German region

A visit by head of Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region to Taicang, a county-level city in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, cemented friendly relations between the two regions on May 29, Taicang Daily reported.

The two places inked a friendly partnership agreement, which involves cooperation in education, training, environmental economy, culture and tourism fields.

The agreement documents more than 10 measures to enhance their relations, including expansion of exchanges between German and Taicang schools, cooperation between the learning factories in Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region and Taicang, and establishment of an experience communication system.

Wang Jianguo, mayor of Taicang, briefed German guests on the city's economic and social development.

Wang said that Taicang has always sought cooperation with German regions and now the city has grown into one of the areas in China with the largest number of Germany-funded companies.

He hoped that the two sides will take the establishment of friendly relations as an opportunity to enlarge their cooperation fields and scope.

Head of Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region appraised the remarkable achievements made by Taicang over the past years.

He said that Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region and Taicang have seen an increasingly broad cooperation since their first cooperation in 2011.

He hopes the two sides will work together to promote their friendly exchanges to a new level.

Taicang is a popular place for German companies because of its geographical advantage in bordering Shanghai and favorable business climate.

To date, more than 300 companies from Germany have settled down in the city, generating over 50 billion yuan ($7.85 billion) each year and 400 or so local companies have forged close ties with their German counterparts.