LIVERPOOL Chinese Business Association (LCBA) is celebrating a highly successful pioneering visit to China.

A team of three, accompanied by LDP Business, spent five days in Linyi, a second tier Chinese city with a population of 10.3 million that is fast emerging as a commercial powerhouse.

Situated between Shanghai and Beijing LCBA identified Linyi as having the land, labour, location and ambition to offer serious opportunities to western investors.

The LCBA feel it perfectly illustrates China’s ‘open door’ policy of the 1990s, with high-ranking officials from Linyi municipal government and China’s central party all describing the opportunities for western businesses as a ‘fairyland’ as Linyi’s pace of development picks up.

The LCBA team was afforded unwarranted access to local and national government officials who all welcomed Liverpool’s overtures with unconditional pledges of collaboration and cooperation for future ventures.

Team leader Alan Seatwo said: “Linyi is full of potential. The impression we have is this is a place that will be one of the driving forces of the Chinese economy of the future.”

The team comprised Mr Seatwo, business consultant Colin Ling and Jack Cai, owner of Liverpool-based import/export company Dong Sheng UK Trading who, with his Linyi-based business partner Mr Wen, invited LCBA’s delegation.

They sought to gauge Linyi’s potential for future business, but also to propose collaboration in four specific sectors of automotive, food, drink and fashion.

All four excited interest at three key presentations the team delivered.

The first was at the Linshu Development Area, south of Linyi city and home to 113 companies who have already attracted investment from several European partners.

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About the City of Linyi from LCBA.net on Vimeo.