Chinese politicians and business representatives from the city of Yangjiang visited the Humber region of the UK last week as part of a wider tour of the country to gain a better understanding of offshore wind farm development.
The visit resulted in a letter of intent to find business partners and learn from established regions and players in the industry.
The Chinese delegation was led by the Mayor of Yangjiang and also included representatives from municipal authorities, developers, turbine manufacturers and design institutes.
Team Humber Marine Alliance was one of the UK hosts and organiser of the Humber leg of the mission.
Yangjiang is a coastal city on the South China Sea in Guangdong province. Some 10GW of the 68GW of offshore wind planned for the province is set to be off the coast of Yangjiang, Team Humber said.
The Chinese also met with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Department for International Trade and the China Britain Business Council in London and visited Manchester.
The Humber element was hosted at Bridgehead Business Park, Hessle before a visit to Modal Training, Immingham, and the fish docks at Grimsby.
Team Humber Marine Alliance chief executive Mark O’Reilly said: “The vision is for Yangjiang to serve as a hub not only in Guangdong, but also in neighbouring Fujian, Guangxi and Hainan.
“They have big ambitions, but little know-how, an appetite to learn and collaborate, but no established international links.
“This presents an excellent opportunity for established companies in the Humber region to promote their expertise and potentially contribute to Yangjiang’s ambitious targets.
“We firmly believe that the opportunities for the Humber’s offshore wind supply chain are global and they should seriously consider how our position as an international leader in the sector can help them trade internationally and achieve sustainable growth.”