Canada's Halifax finds much in common with Zhuhai

Zhuhai city's deputy mayor, Zhang Yisheng, met with the mayor of Halifax, Canada on June 13 and signed a work plan for exchanges and cooperation.

Mike Savage, whose city is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, and Zhang expressed desire to strengthen cooperation regarding ports, education, and tourism.

Zhang detailed Zhuhai's economic and social development to the Canadian delegation. The deputy mayor said that in 2006 throughput capacity of Gaolan Port exceeded 100 million teus and that it offers great prospects for cooperation.

With 10 universities and over 130,000 university students, Zhuhai also has much potential to cooperate with Halifax regarding education. In addition, financial cooperation between Halifax and Hengqin New Area also has a great future, Zhang pointed out. 

Gaolan Port National Clean-Energy Base [Photo courtesy investgaolan.gov.cn]

As the first city in China to obtain the UN's Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment, Zhuhai shares much in common with Halifax in nature and environment. It lays a good foundation for promoting cooperation between the two cities. Zhang also said he hopes that more investors from Halifax can consider Zhuhai.

According to Savage, the visit to Hengqin New Area, Gaolan Port, and the Beijing Normal University Zhuhai was impressive and informative. For instance, partnership between Saint Mary's University in Halifax and Beijing Normal University in Zhuhai has established groundwork for strengthening ties.

Halifax has paid great attention to the development of local enterprises, seeking economic diversification, and constructing a green city. Savage expressed hope that the visit to Zhuhai would promote more exchanges.

An exchange conference was also held during Savage's visit to promote the respective environments of each place. Representatives from government and enterprises of both areas also talked about ports, education, and tourism.