Shanghai and Hamburg's 40 years marked

The ongoing opportunity to learn from one another and strengthen the link between Shanghai and Hamburg was celebrated at a recent event to mark 40 years of friendship between the two cities.

Hamburg in northern Germany is the third-busiest container port in the European Union, and its sister city Shanghai is the busiest container port in the world.

Through four decades of huge political change and economic transformation in both their countries, the cities' connection has grown in strength, from a foundation in business to now include cultural and academic exchange. It was this wide-ranging partnership that was celebrated at a recent Shanghai Night event in the German city, staged by the Fosun International subsidiary Yuyuan Inc.

A display of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage was followed by speeches given by dignitaries from both cities, celebrating the link and looking forward to its continuation.

Yuyuan Inc Vice-President Diego Hu told China Daily how the Hamburg replica of Shanghai's famous Yuyuan Garden acted as an avenue of understanding between the cities and the countries.

"In 2008, we built another garden in Hamburg, which we call a bridge between Shanghai and Hamburg," he said. "Every year, we have around 200,000 people visit the Hamburg Garden ... to know about Chinese culture. People need a platform to know about one another."

Stefan Matz, director of international investments for Hamburg Invest, which aims to attract investment to the city and the region, said that over the decades, the relationship between Shanghai and Hamburg had become a more equal partnership, and that the two cities' status as entry points into a new continent for one another gave them a special connection.

"China is not just learning from Western Europe anymore — Europe, Hamburg, Germany, we are all learning from China, this is what I see in terms of cooperation and mutual benefit," he said. "When people from one city go to the other, they are always amazed — when people from Shanghai come to us, they are surprised by the size of the place, and when we go to Shanghai, we are deeply impressed by the professionality, the speed, the construction — for example, the metro system, with so many stations, built in a short time."

He paid tribute to the way the relationship had expanded beyond its initial economic roots to become something of wider significance to Hamburg as a whole.

"Hamburg has only eight sister cities, so the connection with Shanghai is not just a piece of paper, it's very active, lived on, with strong exchanges," he explained. "Some other German cities are looking at that and thinking 'we would like something like that'."

Corinna Nienstedt, head of the State Office in the senate chancellery of the city of Hamburg, said the strong relationship between Hamburg and Shanghai had been helpful for wider relations between Germany and China.

"It builds up trust and reliability, which helps not just for business relations, but also cultural and political exchange," she said. "We are Europe's gateway to the world, Shanghai has the same function in China, so we have a lot in common and a lot to discuss."

She also commented on the changing nature of the relationship between the cities.

"I remember 30 years ago when the ports talked to each other, it was in a very different way, they wanted to learn from us, but now we are on eye level, so the quality of discussion has changed," she observed.

In the last four decades, China and Germany have both been utterly transformed, both at home and on the world stage, and in a global environment where things can change so much so quickly, Nienstedt said secure relationships like the one between Shanghai and Hamburg are all the more valuable.

"Shanghai is by far (Hamburg port's) biggest partner, so we have to know who we are talking to, what their business strategies are, and the economic policies of China. It is important to go there often to exchange views and get to know more about China — that is one of our motivations to have this strong partnership with China."

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com