A blossoming friendship
Of course, a friendship of this kind cannot be sustained by contracts alone, and so economic and political delegations regularly meet in both Dalian and Bremen. Wang Yue, the vice-president of the Dalian People's Congress, and Dong Zhenming, the head of the CCPIT in Dalian, both paid a visit to Bremen in September 2016, accompanied by political and economic advisors. The CCPIT is China's Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and its branch in Dalian serves as the ultimate authority for the region's international chamber of commerce. The delegation visited Bremen's state parliament and held cooperation talks with Bremeninvest, the Senator for Economic Affairs, Labour and Ports, and the Bremen Chamber of Commerce. The topics of discussion included participation in the Shiptec World Maritime Fair in Dalian, which takes place every two years and is one of the largest maritime exhibitions in northern China.
Benefits for students
Many of Bremen's other institutions have become involved in the partnership over time. Besides Bremeninvest and the Chamber of Commerce, firms such as China Dialog and Airbus Defence & Space have helped to grow the relationship between Bremen and Dalian.
It is not just companies that participate in this exchange, but higher education institutions as well. The business faculty at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences has been cooperating with the Dalian University of Foreign Languages since the 1980s. The former's China Centre of Excellence actively encourages cooperation between China and Bremen and offers business studies courses with a focus on China. The University of Bremen also maintains close links with the Dalian Maritime University, and the two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding. Exchanges between students and lecturers are among the many benefits that have resulted from the partnership.
The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Bremen and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) are collaborating with Chinese partners in Dalian on a joint project by the name of DaBrEM (Dalian - Bremen Electric Mobility), which aims to develop innovative mobility concepts for urban spaces. The project aims to create a sustainable form of city and transport planning.
Bremeninvest – here for you, wherever you are
Bremeninvest, the international brand of Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen (WFB), has established field offices in its key countries of Turkey, China and the USA. Bremeninvest conducts strategic advertising in these locations to promote foreign direct investments in Bremen.
Our key contacts for Chinese companies in Bremen are Matthias Hempen, Tel.: +49 (0)421 9600 127, matthias.hempen@wfb-bremen.de, and Karin Noetzel, Tel.: +49 (0)421 9600 122, karin.noetzel@wfb-bremen.de.