Intense activity of Barcelona's Mayor Xavier Trias in China

From the Twitter account of Barcelona's Mayor, Xavier Trias

Barcelona‘s Mayor, Xavier Trias, is currently having his first official visit to China since he got elected in 2011. In his Twitter account the members of his press team are posting notes and pictures of the main activities of the trip which, among others, have included:

* Meeting with the representatives of Hutchison Port Holdings, who announced their intention to keep on investing in Barcelona

* Attending the launching ceremony of the Samaranch Foundation - See picture at http://instagram.com/p/NA2jUmFyC9/

* Dinner with the Catalan colony in Hong Kong - See picture at http://instagram.com/p/NGNGw0lyPK/

* Meeting with Guo Jinlong (郭金龙), Mayor of Beijing (北京) - See picture at http://yfrog.com/mogjvchj

* Visit of the factory of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. -COMAC- (中国商用飞机有限责任公司) - See picture at http://ow.ly/i/LoVZ

* Meeting with Han Zheng (韩正), Mayor of Shanghai - See picture at http://yfrog.com/odqg1umj

* Meeting with Chinese investors in Shanghai - See picture at http://instagram.com/p/M-PviAFyCo/

* Dinner with businessmen from Catalonia and also from other parts of Spain, asking them to become ambassadors of Barcelona - See picture at http://instagram.com/p/M8Z2SfFyAt/

* Visit to the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), the most important business school in China - See picture at http://yfrog.com/h8lr4nhtj

Xavier Trias' official press release page is including several entries with detailed information (in Catalan) about the Mayor's activities and the agreements reached, like the one with the city of Beijing for a future collaboration on culture, sports, urban development an the promotion of smart cities. Here's a list of the links:

* Trias constata la voluntat de Hutchison de continuar apostant per invertir a Barcelona

* Barcelona i Pequín col·laboraran en cultura, esport, urbanisme i 'smart cities'

* L'alcalde anima als empresaris xinesos a invertir en Barcelona

* Trias demana als empresaris que facin d'ambaixadors de Barcelona a la Xina

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Official picture of Xavier Trias from Barcelona city council website[/caption]

First forum Barcelona - Shanghai to be organized in 2013

From http://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20120712/54324861605/el-ayuntamiento-y-el-czfb-organizara-el-primer-forum-shangai-barcelona.html (in Spanish)

Barcelona's city council and Barcelona's Consorci de la Zona Franca have already started working together to organize the first Barcelona - Shanghai Forum in the first semester of 2013. Barcelona's Mayor, Xavier Trias, and Jordi Cornet, President of the Executive Committee of the Consorci de la Zona Franca, have already reached an agreement with the Mayor of Shanghai, Han Zheng (韩正), to organize such a special Forum probably around next spring in Shanghai addressed to potential Chinese investors in Barcelona's real estate sector. The Forum will be organized by the Barcelona Meeting Point (BMP) trade fair, the only international and professional real estate exhibition in Spain. This announcement has been made during the second day of Xavier Trias' trip to China, in which apart from meeting Han Zheng (韩正) he has also visited the facilities of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. -COMAC- (中国商用飞机有限责任公司).

Xavier Trias and Jordi Cornet have also met some 30 representatives of Chinese top companies and they have encouraged them to invest in Barcelona, which has been described as "the first export area of Spain and that has a prominent economy in many sectors, such as tourism". Jordi Cornet has also referred to the expected increase of traffic in the Barcelona Port once the the enlargment of the TerCat container terminal is finished, something expected to happen around September 2012. Terminal Catalunya S.A. (TerCat) is a shipping & logistics company managed by the Chinese holding Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) that in 2011 obtained a credit of 280 million € to finance the first phase of the enlargment of the Prat pier container terminal, within the Barcelona Port Authority. Xavier Trias has stated his will to turn Barcelona's Port as the gate through which goods coming from Shanghai would reach Europe.

 

Carles Puigdemont, Mayor of Girona, receives a delegation from Hangzhou, China

From http://www.girona.cat/alcalde/cat/noticies2.php?idReg=4080&titol=Recepcio-de-la-delegacio-de-Hangzhou-Xina- (in Catalan)

The Mayor of Girona, Carles Puigdemont, together with other two elected members of Girona city council, Carles Ribas and Maria Àngels Planas, has recently received a delegation from the council of the city of Hangzhou (China). This meeting is included in the 5-day visit to Spain of the Chinese delegation, whose members are seeking to share experiences in the management of public affairs with the cities they visit.

Hangzhou is the  capital of the Zhejiang province, in the People's Republic of China, and its metropolitan area already reached over 6 million inhabitants in 2003. In 2010 the city hosted some events of the World Expo, where the Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls performed and raised one of their renowned human towers ("castells").

The members of the Hangzhou delegation that visited Girona and met the Mayor Carles Puigdemont were Song Chuanshui, Director of the Commission on Culture and History (CPPCC Hangzhou Committee); Zhong Liping, Chairwoman, (CPPCC Gongshu District Committee); Deng Xingshun, Deputy Director of Commission on Proposals (CPPCC Hangzhou Committee); Zhang Yalian, Vice Chairwoman (CPPCC Lin'an Committee); Ni Sunong, General Office Director of Commission on Culture and History (CPPCC Hangzhou Committee); and Han Tianying, Interpreter, Hangzhou Exit and Entry Administration for Public Affairs.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="420"] The Mayor of Girona, Carles Puigdemont, receives the delegation from Hangzhou, China (pictures from the official site of the Mayor of Girona)[/caption]

China in the new world geopolitics, a conference in Barcelona

From http://www.casaasia.eu/actividad/detalle?id=207472 (in English)

The Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB), a Barcelona-based think-tank about international relationships, Casa Àsia and Plataforma Editorial are organizing a conference on July 5th, 2012, about the role of China in the geopolitics of forthcoming world arising after the crisis. Some of the questions that will be examined during the lecture are have the attitudes of the Chinese elites in the last years changed? What kind of geopolitical tensions are being gestated in Asia-Pacific? Which is the geoeconomic dimension of the boom of China? For Europe, is the crisis an opportunity or a challenge? How does the crisis of the Euro affect the relationship between Europe and China? And, finally, which are the options of Spain to promote their relations with China bilaterally and through triangulations: Spain-China-Latin America and Spain-Europe-China?

The speech will be delivered by Julio Arias, Diplomat of the Office of Operations of the Foreign Service of the Euopean Union in Brussels and consultant for 10 years in Beijing. Jordi Vaquer, Director of CIDOB, and Rafael Bueno, Director of Politics and Society of Casa Àsia, will act as moderators.

The conference will take place at the Maragall Hall, at the CIDOB headquarters in Barcelona, at 12 Elisabets street, and it will start at 6:30 pm. Admission is free prior registration. For further information, contact yparicio@casaasia.es.

You can download a brochure of the event as a pdf file from Casa Àsia website.

Conference in Barcelona on labour market and job opportunities in China and India

From http://www.casaasia.eu/actividad/detalle?id=207431 (in English)

This session's goal is to analyze which are the current trends on the China and India labour markets and which are the most requested professional profiles. The event is organized by Casa Àsia in Barcelona, with the collaboration of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School, Indian School of Business (ISB) and La Caixa Foundation and it will take place on July 5th, 2012. Admission is free prior registration and the session will be entirely conducted in English.

Programme

5:45 pm Registration

6:00 pm Opening speech by Amadeu Jensana, Director of Economy and Business of Casa Àsia and Rosa Maria Molins, Director of Scholarships and Postgraduate Studies of La Caixa Foundation.

6:15 pm MBA Studies in China and India, by Roy Chason, Senior Marketing Manager, MBA Admissions, China Europe International Business School; Chris Tsang, Executive Director, MBA/MSc Programs, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School; and V.K. Menon, Senior Director Admissions and Career Advancement Services, Indian School of Business.

7:00 pm Labour Market and Job Opportunities in China and India. Debate with Speakers and Interns of the Scholarship Programme La Caixa-Casa Asia, moderated by Amadeu Jensana.

7:40 pm Open discussion

8:00 pm Networking

The event will take place in the headquarters of Casa Àsia, at Diagonal Avenue, 373, in Barcelona. for further information, please contact cbedoya@casaasia.es.

You can download a brochure of the same event in Madrid as a pdf file from Casa Àsia website.