The " Water" in the title of season two of this two city event held in central London, refers to the "mother rivers" of Shanghai, the Huangpu river and Suzhou Creek, that symbolically merge with the River Thames to bring our cities together. Our Water being the life giving passage ways to global trade and collaboration in Shanghai, through the rivers that have been the first stages to international trade over many years, facilitating and encouraging economic growth and collaboration between our two countries. The event theme was entitled Sustainable Futures- Charting a zero-carbon Waterside Chapter for Shanghai and London which I was pleased to attend.
Both London and Shanghai have made tremendous efforts to clean up these hard working conduits to business and pleasure, not always achieving the best possible results here in the UK. I remember watching cormorants fishing just below Tower Bridge, not far from Whitehall place about ten years ago, and was so pleased to see the best possible confirmation that the Thames had recovered from decades of industrial abuse to this level. Excessive pollution in some UK rivers is a subject being discussed at the moment by the UK Government and was touched on in Our Water high level round tables that included representation from both cities. I sincerely hope that our London Thames river cormorants can still be seen fishing so centrally.
Some of the UK panellists had been invited to Shanghai last November along with other UK business representatives to experience first-hand the ecological restoration of central Shanghai and meet their opposite numbers, resulting in firm business commitments and a greater understanding of each other's culture and business environment.
The intention is to have a similar trip to Shanghai later this year to cement relationships further, create new ones and an enhanced understanding of two diverse cultures for both cities and indeed both countries, mutual benefit.
Given the current trading uncertainty on a global basis, the timing of the Our Water initiative is excellent but is not restricted to economic themes. It also deals at length with the sustainable development of both cities, enabling academic relationships to be formed, ideas to be shared and nurtured in the future, around the confluence of Our Waters.
Chris Westcott
Director New Business
