Toowoomba closing in on sister city agreement in China
Photo: Toowoomba Regional Council
TOOWOOMBA could soon have a new sister city in China, with the council taking the next steps in establishing the relationship.
Mayor Paul Antonio met with Shaoxing honorary citizen and trade liaison Nelson Huang, with the council hoping to establish tourism and trade links with its Asian counterpart.
“China is set to become the world’s largest economy and we want to seize the emerging opportunities for our region’s tourism, education, agriculture and service industries,” Cr Antonio said.
“China is the next horizon for international tourism with visitor numbers from Asia growing last year by 10.3%.
“Also, International Education will play an increasingly important role in our region’s economy.
“With a proud history of educational excellence, Toowoomba offers a safe and welcoming community to support overseas students.”
The council established a Memorandum of Understanding in 2016 with a district within the city known as Yuecheng, which has more than 600,000 people across just 340sq km.
Cr Antonio said he hoped to invite the Shaoxing Government to Toowoomba in the coming year.
“I look forward to signing a sister-city agreement with the Yuecheng District, Shaoxing in the coming months, cementing links with this important region,” he said.