Chinese sister-city visits Taupo

A group of visitors from Taupo’s Chinese sister-city, the Municipal of Suzhou, visited the district last week.

Suzhou officially became Taupo’s newest sister-city in February last year. The delegation from the city of 12 million included the Mayor of Suzhou, Yan Li. They were here to reconfirm the 2008 agreement, discuss relationship building and future business opportunities.

While in Taupo, the group went trout fishing on the lake with Mayor Rick Cooper, Cr Doreen Blyth and Cr Kathryn Uvhagen who are representatives on Taupo’s International Relations Committee. Deputy Mayor Christine McElwee, Cr Barry Hickling and Chief Executive Rob Williams also joined the contingent.

Mayor Rick Cooper says the opportunity to forge stronger ties with China makes good economic and strategic sense. “China is forecast to be a key player in future tourism markets so these visits are vital for relationship building and allow us to promote Taupo on a more personal level,” he says.