Atlanta’s Sister Cities Commission is expected to choose a Chinese Sister City June 13, which could be a boost for the city’s business and trade relations with the country.
The commission will make a recommendation to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to approve Wuhan, Ningbo or Dalian, China, as Atlanta’s next Sister City.
The decision comes after months of deliberation and several presentations about why one of the three cities would be best suited to be paired with Atlanta.
“This is a daunting task, as all three are excellent,” said Claire McLeveighn, director of external affairs and international relations for the city of Atlanta, who oversees the effort for the mayor.
While Sister City relationships have traditionally been built on educational and cultural relationships, the city of Atlanta has started to look at them as gateways to building business relationships.
Last month, Ms. Franklin led a trade mission to Asia that visited Atlanta Sister Cities Daegu, Korea and Fukuoka, Japan, in addition to other major cities in the two countries.
And last October, the city hosted an economic development conference that welcomed 13 of Atlanta’s 18 Sister Cities here to explore ways to leverage their relationships for economic development purposes.
At the same time, the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia are working to develop stronger business relationships with China.
City and state officials have actively supported Delta Air Lines Inc.’s bid to open a direct flight between Atlanta and Shanghai, China. The state of Georgia is in the midst of opening a representative office in Beijing, and both public and private sector officials are campaigning to get a Chinese Consulate General to open in Atlanta.
So, when Lani Wong, chair of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association of Chinese-Americans, started researching which Chinese cities would be best Sister City matches for Atlanta more than a year ago, she considered their potential for economic development.
Ms. Wong, who has never lived in China, is widely recognized in Atlanta’s Chinese-American community as a supporter of Wuhan.
In an interview with GlobalAtlanta, Ms. Wong said that while Wuhan was far from the business-popular Chinese coast, along which Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian and Ningbo are all located, it presented many economic opportunities for Atlanta as a logistics hub in Central China.
“Wuhan has huge potential for us to tap into,” she said, adding that Atlanta’s small-to medium-size businesses would benefit from the friendships and contacts that a Sister City relationship would foster.
She also said that with more than 3,000 years of history and about 52 universities, cultural and educational opportunities abound in Wuhan.
Ningbo also presents cultural, educational and economic opportunities for Atlanta, according to Jane Li, who has already been developing a relationship between Atlanta and her native city over the past two years.
Ms. Li said that she first started considering Ningbo as a Sister City for Atlanta when Ningbo’s mayor visited here in 2005.
Since then, she has also worked to develop business relationships between the two cities, participating in various Atlanta seminars as a representative for the Ningbo Foreign Investment Development Board. And she is also leading a 20-person trade mission there June 8-12.
A number of Georgia-based companies have already developed business contacts there and Ningbo-based Lehui Enterprises was the first Chinese firm to announce its investment in Georgia last year.
If Delta were to get a flight into Shanghai, Ningbo would also be easily accessible to Atlanta travelers, since the Chinese government is building the world’s longest ocean bridge to connect the two Chinese cities, Ms. Li added.
Dalian, the final contender, is being represented in Atlanta by Theresa Qian who works with BellSouth Corp. and Jiguang Zhang, chief technical officer with Excellatron Solid State LLC.
Located in northeastern China, Dalian is a major port city and logistics hub with nearly 6 million people. It is an industrial center with information technology, petrochemicals, electronics and textiles being among its industrial sectors.
Dalian is also major financial capital for Northeast Asia, with more than 60 foreign financial branches and 22 foreign financial organizations located there, according to Dr. Zhang.
The city was recently voted one of the top three tourist destinations in China by the World Tourism Organization, and it will be the host to the next World Economic Forum meeting in September, according to Dr. Zhang, who is a native of the city.
After the Sister City Commission meets to recommend a Chinese Sister City, it must be approved my Ms. Franklin and ratified by the Atlanta City Council.
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