HOW A CHINA TRADE MISSION COULD GENERATE £140 MILLION FOR LIVERPOOL CITY REGION
A 21-strong Liverpool City Region delegation, organised by Invest Liverpool visited China in April, where numerous deals were signed, potentially generating up to £140 million.
Delegates from Liverpool City Region visited Shanghai in April as part of 20th anniversary celebrations of the twinning of the two cities.
It’s estimated that over £139m potential financial value was generated by Liverpool City Region delegates during the trip, when more than 140 meetings took place.
One of those was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed, with 45 potential deals created.
Three organisations have since moved on to set up offices in Shanghai. Liverpool Council’s deputy mayor, Gary Millar said:
“April’s delegation to Shanghai was one of our most successful trade trips to date and provided a fantastic platform to showcase the Liverpool City Region and facilitate those important introductions that allowed our delegates to take their next steps in seeking out new investment opportunities in China.
“This new data demonstrates the importance of seeking new partnerships, being explorers and more importantly creating jobs, new skills and relationships here in Liverpool and the City Region.
“Liverpool’s relationship with Shanghai is a very special one which goes back not just 20 years of Sister City status but 200 years of friendship and trading.
“It’s a partnership that we treasure and we’ll continue to cement these existing relationships and build for a golden future between our two great cities.”
During the special visit, Liverpool was invited by the Shanghai government to be Honorary Guest City for the 7 China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair.
The city was also provided with a free exhibition space in recognition of the Sister City status.
Among the deal signed during the trip were two major investments secured by the Materials Innovation Factory (MIF), which was co-founded by the University of Liverpool and Unilever.
One of those was an investment of £500,000 – £1m into a mobile robot project, while the other will support the research and development of a sulphur rich polymer material.
Read more about Liverpool’s work in China HERE.