The importance of face-to-face: Christchurch City Mayor Phil Mauger

I’ve just settled back in after a whirlwind two weeks in China for a Sister Cities visit.

The importance of face-to-face meetings can’t be underestimated, so it was fantastic to get over there in person with the delegation which included councillors Victoria Henstock and Jake McLellan.

It was a busy trip, but we met some great people and strengthened our ties with some cities over there. I caught up with the Mayor of Shenzhen and city officials, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Hohhot which will boost our partnership with their city. In Gansu, where we recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Sister City relationship, we had a look at their agriculture, green development and infrastructure.

A highlight was re-signing the Sister City agreement with Wuhan’s Mayor, which is an absolutely fantastic 20-year relationship. I planted a friendship tree in
Wuhan too which was special—even though the weather was very hot.

I want to make sure that we keep all these relationships going into the future. Canterbury has had the biggest student intake ever in the last two years, which is because a lot of the young people from across New Zealand and all over the world think our city is the best place to learn. The university has recovered up to 54% of international students post-Covid.

It’s vital we reinforce our overseas connections so we can keep Christchurch buzzing with all these new people calling our city home.