Tianjin is the seventh largest city in China, with a population of over 13.8 million residents.
Tianjin has been an important transport and trading centre since the 13th century, it was famous as a cosmopolitan centre long before the arrival of the European trading community in the 19th century.
As a treaty port since 1860, Tianjin has been a major seaport and gateway to Beijing, fostering the growth of commercially innovative city.
The city is noted for its woven handicraft products, terra-cotta figurines, hand-painted woodblock prints, and extensive seafood cuisine.
Tianjin's financial district has become known as China's Manhattan and the city is considered one of the world's top 100 cities, including in the Global Financial Centres Index.
How the relationship began
Wellington entered into a partnership with Tianjin in 2000 as part of a World Bank-supported Megacities Earthquake Mitigation Initiative. The partnership focused on fostering the sharing of scientific, technical and policy expertise in the handling of the common threat of earthquakes.
After more than 10 years of activity, it was agreed to upgrade the relationship to a formal friendly city relationship, and in 2011 a new agreement was signed by the mayors of the two cities.
Highlights
The partnership between Tianjin and Wellington remains strong and the cities are now focusing on creating tangible business and education opportunities from the relationship.
Some highlights include:
- visits by civic and business delegations
- mayoral delegations
- trade and education delegations
- participation in forums on issues or in sectors specific to areas of interest for Wellington