Beijing is twinned with 21 european cities but some of the agreements lie dormant

When London and Beijing signed a city-to-city partnership agreement in 2006, the two cities were bracing themselves for a number of shared experiences and challenges, most notably hosting the Olympic Games.

At the time, then London mayor Ken Livingstone said that he looked forward to a period of cooperation between the two cities.

"With Beijing at the heart of China, the world's fastest growing economy, and London, a world leader in financial and business services, we are confident that both our great cities can benefit from closer ties," he said.

In practice, however, civic ties between the two cities have remained ceremonial. Beijing's official website lists almost 50 different sister cities in countries around the world, making bilateral relations complicated. Indeed, London's local government office stressed that the city doesn't consider its arrangement with Beijing to be a formal twinning.

Beijing's cooperation with twining cities has evolved from senior official levels to more dimensions, and various social groups have been embodied.

European capitals remain keen to sign friendship agreements with Beijing. In the past two years, Dublin and Copenhagen have taken the total number of Beijing's European sister cities to 21.

To gain the most out of such an agreement, cities are beginning to focus twinning arrangements on specific policy areas. Copenhagen, for example, has used the twinning to promote cooperation on environmental and urban planning.

"Beijing says it wants to focus on sustainable solutions, the clean-technology sector, social welfare and livability, and how to be a growing city and still have a focus on citizens' quality of life," said Copenhagen's mayor Frank Jensen last year. "I think we have a lot to share with each other to develop both cities.

Beijing has maintained a cooperative relationship with Moscow on city management. In January, 2010, Beijing sent a delegation to Moscow to learn snow removal skills when is was hit by snowstorms.

Dublin's twinning with Beijing in 2011 focused upon education, paving the way for a joint venture college in Beijing between University College Dublin and Beijing University of Technology.

The proposal was made by UCD following the official Beijing-Dublin twinning agreement and it was during a meeting between Beijing's mayor and Ireland's minister for education that the plans were endorsed.

The formal agreement was signed in February, 2012, which marks the first time Beijing's municipal university has ever signed a joint educational contract with a famous foreign university. In 2013, the joint venture plans to recruit 400 students to majors of Software Engineering, The Internet of Things, Finance and Applied Statistics.

Last year, Budapest upgraded a friendship agreement with Beijing, signed in 2005, to sister-city status in hope of developing cultural ties.

Budapest's mayor Istvan Tarlos said: "We would like to host Chinese orchestras and organize art exhibitions and, of course, we also would like to come to China and do the same."

Some of Beijing's older European twinning agreements continue to be maintained. In 2010, it marked the 30th anniversary of its first European sister-city agreement with Belgrade.

"For us, the bridge we are going to build together is important," said Belgrade mayor Dragan Djilas at the time. A special exhibit of Chinese art was displayed at Belgrade's Old Palace to mark the occasion.

But some of the 21 twinning agreements between Beijing and European cities are now dormant.

For European cities looking to build partnerships with Chinese equivalents, the best bet is to look toward China's second- and third-tier cities, rather than Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.

Contact the writers at bartram.david@gmail.com and jixiang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/15/2013 page12)