Zhanjiang Party chief Liu Xiaohua and mayor Wang Zhongbing meet with foreign diplomats at the city’s Haibin Hotel. [Photo by Chen Yu]

Zhanjiang Party chief Liu Xiaohua and mayor Wang Zhongbing vowed to boost the city’s cooperation with coastal countries and regions, when they met with foreign diplomats invited to attend the China Ocean Economy Expo on Dec 2.

Liu said the Expo will play an important role in not only boosting Zhanjiang’s ocean-based economic development but also facilitating international maritime cooperation.

Russian consul general in Guangzhou, Medvedev Mikhail, said many Russian companies expressed their interest in the event and would like to be business partners with China and other countries at the expo.

A frequent visitor to Zhanjiang, Singaporean consul general in Guangzhou, Loh Tuck Wai, said the city is a pioneer in China-ASEAN exchanges, a place of strategic importance to China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road campaign and thus an ideal location for the Expo. Loh said he believes Singapore and Zhanjiang have brighter trade prospects.

Also present at the meeting were diplomats from Japanese, Thai, Polish, Vietnamese and American consulates in Guangzhou.

Edited by Feng Lu and Brian Salter