On Monday 3 December, Sandwell Council and partners welcomed a delegation of government officials from the city of Jinhua in China, to strengthen existing ties of friendship and business.

The visit took place at the Hawthorns, home to West Bromwich Albion Football Club, to enhance links between Sandwell and the city of Jinhua and its wider Zhejiang province, which is an eastern coastal region south of Shanghai.

This was the third year running that the visit has taken place. In 2016 Sandwell Council and the Mayor of Jinhua signed a Friendship Agreement, with the aim of promoting common prosperity and development for the two regions.

Prominent attendees this year included Zhang Yuejin, Deputy Chairman of Jinhua Municipal Political Consultative Conference, Councillor Syeda Khatun, Deputy Leader at Sandwell Council, and Corin Crane, CEO of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

Representatives from Sandwell Business Ambassadors were on hand to give insight into the benefits of growing a business in Sandwell, including the organisation’s chairman Alan Taylor, who is also managing director at MiGlass Ltd.

Sandwell Council’s Director for Regeneration and Growth Amy Harhoff delivered a presentation showcasing Sandwell’s business capability and the strategic location of our borough, paying tribute to our “thriving, optimistic and resilient community”.

Amy said afterwards: “It was a great visit – full of interesting discussions about the potential for the two regions to do business together, as well as the possibility of educational and cultural exchanges. There are many similarities between Sandwell and Jinhua in Zhejiang, owing to our manufacturing and automotive industries, and this is a friendship to nurture”.

We will keep you posted on any plans for a return visit to China by a Sandwell delegation.