The Diplomat
Coinciding with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Spanish-Chinese diplomatic relations, the city of Shanghai held a bilateral collaboration summit in Madrid on November 15 with the participation of Turespaña, the city councils of Madrid and Malaga, the Thyssen Museum and representatives of major organizations from both countries.
This summit is part of the communication action that the Municipality of Shanghai is developing this year in Europe, “Amazing Shanghai”, with an invitation to discover the city and open a window to its many facets under the slogan “Shanghai, let’s meet”.
During the round table discussion ‘Strategic keys for bilateral collaboration’, moderated by Carlos Sentís, CEO of Henkuai and World Innovation Alliance, the director of the Shanghai Municipal Information Office, Yang Jing, mentioned that Shanghai is a city with unlimited possibilities, and highlighted the promotional work being done with brands such as ‘Amazing Shanghai’. Yang Jing stressed the importance of communication on digital platforms to connect with the Chinese public, highlighting channels such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu or WeChat.
Ma Xiaohong, president of the Shanghai International Communication Association, stressed that half a century of diplomatic relations is a key milestone and a moment for “Spain and China to continue writing together a new chapter of friendly cooperation” and spoke of the similarities between Shanghai and Madrid, both “important economic centers with a deep cultural tradition”.
The general director of Turespaña, Miguel Sanz, after affirming that “China and its main cities are strategic markets” for Spain, announced that “between 2023 and 2024, 13 important tourism and cultural promotion actions will be carried out in the Shanghai market alone”.
He Yong, Minister-Counselor for Culture of the Chinese Embassy assured that “in the first half of 2023, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Spain increased by 420% and consumer spending increased by 592%”. He regretted, however, that “unfortunately we have not had such good results in attracting Spanish tourists to China” which “shows that we still have a lot of work to do.”
The Director of Tourism of the Madrid City Council, Héctor Coronel, spoke of air connectivity as “a fundamental pillar that must continue to be strengthened” and announced that “Madrid is working on a plan to increase tourism from Asia”.
For his part, Jonathan Gomez, Director of Tourism of the City of Malaga, announced a twinning action with the city of Shanghai that will begin in December, and through which will be inaugurated simultaneously, three artistic murals in Picasso style in key stations of the Shanghai subway.
To cap off the meeting, guests enjoyed the exhibition Impressions of “Two Cities in Color Notes” (“双城印象-彩色笔记” ), created by Zhong Lyu, Chief Engineer of the Shanghai Urban Engineering Design and Research Institute. This is an exclusive exhibition in Spain, and features 20 unique pieces that open “a window into the shared soul of Shanghai and Spain,” according to its author.
