Wirral Council Sister City
Wirral Council is partnered with Taicang in the Jiangsu province of China. TEP works to facilitate ongoing successful Sister City and Sister School Partnerships in the region.
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Wirral Council & Education Partnerships
True Education Partnerships (TEP) are the most trusted provider of immersive educational student exchanges between the UK and China.
Our Government-backed Hosting Unleashed programme and educational trips to China help to inspire young people and prepare them for the world of tomorrow. By establishing and supporting bilaterally beneficial Sister School Partnerships, we enable schools to increase cultural awareness, boost student enrichment and facilitate the development of essential life skills.
We also work directly with councils to establish and maintain sister city partnerships between the UK and China. This helps to increase cultural awareness across cities; develop educational partnerships such as joint research and teaching programmes; boost tourism and trade and encourage new business relationships and investments.
Wirral Council China Sister Cities
Wirral is linked with Taicang in the Jiangsu Province.
Wirral Taicang
Wirral and Taicang have shared a close sister city relationship since 2011, enjoying several mutually beneficial business, educational and community developments since 2008.
We help create Sister City Partnerships through our close ties with the Chinese government. If you’d like to create a partnership with China, contact us.
Want to know more about how TEP can support your region’s Sister City Partnerships?
Wirral Sister School Partnerships
Sister school partnerships are long-term agreements between two schools consisting of immersive student exchanges, participation in joint projects and curriculum enrichment.
International school partnerships provide a great opportunity to help students develop the skills they need to succeed in education, work, society and relationships. TEP works with government backing to provide positive Sister School Partnership programmes for schools in the UK and China.
So far we have created Sister School Partnerships for 10 schools in the region including John Plessington Catholic College, Bidston Avenue Primary School, The Mosslands School, St Mary’s Catholic College and Wirral Grammar for Girls. Many of them have since hosted their Chinese sister schools and have embarked on eye-opening trips to China to visit them.
If you’re interested in supporting your region’s links with China, why not start up a Sister School Partnership for your school or trust? As part of the partnership, we help you facilitate immersive learning experiences for both students and teachers including school visits, student hosting and joint projects.
Sister City Partnership Process
Partnership Initiation
We plan and launch Council Delegation visits to establish Sister City Partnerships between councils in the UK and China.
Economic Impact
A Sister City Partnership can encourage inward investment and has many bilateral benefits that make a significant economic impact.
Partnership Support
We support existing Sister City Partnerships between the UK and China through business, education and sport.
Education Opportunity
We invite schools to be part of rewarding Sister School Partnerships, which have mutual student benefits for both the UK & China.
Benefits of a Sister City Partnership
The UK and China have a long history of engagement and are now entering a ‘golden era’ of deepening relations between the two countries.
The China International Friendship Cities Association counts 52 formal Sister City Partnerships between Chinese and British cities.
Partnering with a Chinese city has significant measurable benefits such as:
- Increased city-wide cultural awareness
- Educational partnerships and developments
- An influx of business, tourism & trade
- The sharing of valuable resources and approaches
- Increased desirability and raised social profile
- More investment in the local economy.
We have facilitated many Sister City Partnerships, including the iconic relationship between Liverpool and Shanghai, for which we championed the 20th anniversary celebrations in 2019.
Links like these have a tremendous impact on a region’s international awareness, bringing social benefits that reach far into local communities as well as across the region and UK.
Wirral-Taicang Partnership Past Activity
- Wirral signed an official sister city agreement with Taicang in October 2011. The partnership was designed to boost tourism relations and links for ports, sustainable technology and education, as well as to develop business links. Taicang is based in the Jiangsu province and is one of China’s wealthiest cities.
- Representatives from Wirral’s business community, UKTI and the China-Britain Business Council travelled to Taicang in 2015 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Taicang General Chamber of Commerce. The MOU placed Wirral in a positive position to create stronger trade links between the UK and China.
- A follow-up trade mission was organised by Wirral Chamber of Commerce in 2016 for local businesses to visit China
- In late 2017, Liverpool and Wirral joined forces in a business delegation visit to South West China and Tianjin, to boost investment for the two regions. Wirral Council Leader Phil Davies said the visit was a great opportunity for international investors to build on existing relationships and that they also looked forward to visiting their sister city Taicang during the trip.
- In October 2019, several Wirral schools embarked on a school trip to China to visit their sister schools in Taicang. The trip served to give an insight to students on what life in their sister school is like, as well as strengthening educational links between Wirral and Taicang.
