Lin Daji, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Ningbo Municipal Committee, delivers a speech at the Ningbo-Nottingham Cultural and Creative Industries Forum in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on April 13. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Ningbo and Nottingham became sister cities in 2005. The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, founded a year earlier, is a joint venture between China and the UK and also serves as a bridge between Ningbo and Nottingham.

Robert Dixon, head of Business Growth and International Strategy, Nottingham City Council, is interviewed at the Ningbo-Nottingham Cultural and Creative Industries Forum in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on April 13. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The two cities have conducted exchanges and cooperation activities in a wide range of fields over the past decade, including education, trade, investment and culture. In 2011, nine museums in both cities jointly set up an international alliance and in 2017 and 2018, art troupes from Ningbo performed in front of Nottingham audiences during the Chinese New Year.

Dixon believes that the person-to-person relationship is the most important for sustainable and comprehensive relations, "We come to Ningbo and meet businesses, organizations and the government here, while the Ningbo government sends people to serve on the Nottingham City Council for a period of time, which I think is a powerful way of demonstrating the link between the two cities. The personal links are probably what make the most sense."