Amsterdam delegation visits China
An Amsterdam delegation headed by Mayor Job Cohen is visiting China on 1-8 November. The programme includes visits to Beijing and Shanghai. The purpose of the trip is to forge new business relationships and to strengthen existing co-operation in education, culture and tourism. As well as officials from Amsterdam and other local authorities in the region, the delegation also includes representatives from the business community, the arts, the tourism industry and higher education.
The Amsterdam region presents itself in China as a creative, innovative destination for business, students and tourists. The number of Chinese visitors to the Dutch capital has increased sharply in recent years, to about 50,000 per annum. Although this number is still relatively small as a proportion of Amsterdam’s total tourism market, it has risen by no less than 38 per cent in just one year. This figure is expected to keep growing in the years to come.
Meanwhile, some twenty Chinese companies have set up shop in Amsterdam since 2006. And businesses based here are investing more and more in China. In Shanghai, Mayor Cohen will be announcing plans by two Amsterdam creative firms to establish branches there.
Another goal of the mission is to improve opportunities for student exchanges and co-operation in scientific research. At joint seminars in Beijing and Shanghai, the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board and the city’s leading higher education institutions – the University of Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam and InHolland University – will be showcasing what the region has to offer tourists and students, as well as how co-operation can be intensified in the future.
Cultural exchange is on the agenda, too. The delegation includes Carolien Gehrels, member of the City Executive for Culture, accompanied by the directors of the Rijksmuseum, Hermitage Amsterdam/De Nieuwe Kerk and the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ. Performances by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Beijing and Shanghai will provide the perfect opportunity to display our credentials as a city of culture.
Aegon and ING are represented as well, with meetings planned to present Amsterdam as a financial centre. These should pave the way for a delegation that will be visiting China next year, when the mission’s main theme will be the financial sector.
This is the third year in succession that a high-level delegation has visited China as part of Amsterdam’s policy towards the country. That policy focuses on acquisition, logistics, trade, tourism, education, culture and city marketing. Amsterdam has chosen to invest so much in the relationship because of its firm belief that China’s economic importance will continue to increase in the long term. The strategy has already led to some significant successes. For example, the opening this year of a third regular shipping line has cleared the way for the flow of goods between China and Amsterdam to keep rising. Indeed, the efforts of its local office have made the Port of Amsterdam an established brand in the Chinese logistics world. The same applies to Schiphol, which is now actively exporting its Airport City concept to China. In the other direction, technology firm Huawei – which already had its Benelux headquarters in Amsterdam – recently established its global financial holding business here as well. Five other Chinese companies have also come to the city this year.
Press release - City of Amsterdam - 4 November 2008
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