WORCESTER’S economic and cultural horizons have broadened with the signing of a special "sister city" agreement with Hezhou, in the Guangxi Zhuang region of China.

The aim is to cultivate greater co-operation in mutually beneficial areas such as trade, tourism, science and technology, as well as to provide educational opportunities for schools and individuals in both cities. A delegation of 15 Chinese visitors, comprising government officials and business representatives from Hezhou, spent three days in Worcester to sign the agreement and attend business meetings.

Cllr Simon Geraghty, leader of Worcester City Council, signed the agreement, which was translated into both Mandarin and English, at a special ceremony in the Guildhall hosted by the Mayor of Worcester Cllr Roger Knight.

The Mayor said: "It is a great honour to welcome representatives from the Chinese city of Hezhou to Worcester. This is a wonderful opportunity for both our cities to develop mutual understanding, build new friendships and to strengthen co-operation between our citizens."

Cllr Geraghty added: "The signing of our sister city agreement is the culmination of work undertaken by the Worcestershire Ambassadors over recent years to develop, economic, cultural and educational ties between our cities."

Zhu Dong, vice mayor of Hezhou Municipal People’s Government, said: “I would like to thank the representatives of Worcester for their hospitality and look forward to working closely with the city in the future in many areas, including education exchange programmes, healthcare and agriculture. In addition, many new business links have been made today and I would like to extend a welcome to you to visit Hezou in the future to continue to develop close relations between our cities.”

This initiative has been several months in the planning. Cllr Geraghty and Cllr Adrian Gregson, Labour group leader on Worcester City Council, laid the groundwork when they visited Hezhou in November 2014. The agreement is for an initial five year period, but it is hoped that if successful, it will be automatically extended beyond this.

Chinese delegates visiting have listened to a presentation on World Class Worcestershire delivered by the Local Enterprise Partnership and attended numerous business meetings, including a lunch hosted at the Guildhall. There has also been time to take in many local attractions including visits to Worcester Porcelain and the Cathedral, where the delegates enjoyed a choir recital, a ride on the Severn Valley Railway and a visit to West Midlands Safari Park. The delegation then travelled to London where its members were met at the Houses of Parliament by Worcester MP Robin Walker.