Manjimup-Jiashan relationship becomes official
MEDIA RELEASE - Manjimup-Jiashan relationship becomes official
November 2016
In early September, the Shire of Manjimup were invited to Jiashan in China by the Jiashan County Bureau of Commerce. A delegation including Shire President Wade DeCampo, Councillor Carla Logan, Councillor Robert Taylor and Director of Business Greg Lockwood travelled to Jiashan in October, with the main purpose being to formalise the long standing relationship between Manjimup and Jiashan and to attend the Jiashan International Investment and Trade Fair.
Jiashan County, which is 80km west of Shanghai, is part of Zhejiang Province, administered by the prefecture-level city Jiaxing which the City of Bunbury has a friendship agreement with. "Manjimup and Jiashan don't share many similarities, but like any relationship, the strengths are in our differences," said Shire President Wade DeCampo.
The itinerary for the trip included a school visit, a tour of a wood carving factory, a visit to the Jiashan agriculture base, and time spent in the Jiashan Economic and Technology Development Zone as well as the trade fair. "The highlight was definitely the Cooperation and Exchange Forum, which is where we exchanged gifts with Qi Hailong, Mayor of Jiashan County, and signed the friendship agreement," said Cr DeCampo. "This forum was attended by over 500 people with a heavy media presence from both print and television, which gave the Shire of Manjimup a lot of coverage to raise our profile and create awareness and interest in what we have to offer."
"I certainly understand why this trip could have been perceived as a waste of time due to the size of our Shire versus the size of Jiashan and the dissimilarities in industry. However, they really treated us with the same respect they would treat delegates from a massive city, and it was abundantly clear that the people of Jiashan want to have real, mutually beneficial economic relations," explained Cr DeCampo.
Special guests at the forum included Xu Chunhong - Deputy Mayor of Jiashan, He Huiqin and Shu Shiping, both Deputy Directors of Jiashan Standing Committee of People's Congress, as well as guests from Foreign Affairs, Office of People's Government of Jiashan County, the Commerce Bureau, Education Bureau and Culture Bureau.
"Ultimately we want to continue to build better international relations with Jiashan in order to achieve greater long term economic benefits. There are opportunities for wine, milk, milk powder, timber, tourism and other niche products and there are so many benefits that come from sharing knowledge and learning from other nations," said Cr DeCampo. "Just one exchange of goods as a result of this trip could be massive for our region and that's what I want people to consider."
-ENDS-
Authorised by Andrew Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Shire of Manjimup.
Contact Gina Nieuwendyk, Coordinator Communication and Executive Support, Shire of Manjimup
Contact: 9771 7777
Contact for comment: Wade DeCampo, Shire President.
Contact: 0427 094 081
