Zhang Tong, mayor of Nantong, meets with Alexander Biber, mayor of Troisdorf, on April 15. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Zhang Tong, mayor of Nantong in Jiangsu province, met with Alexander Biber, mayor of Troisdorf, a city in the western part of Germany, on April 15.

Zhang welcomed Biber on behalf of local authorities and explained the city's economic and social development.

She said that Nantong, an open city, has maintained close economic and trade exchanges with Germany.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the all-round strategic partnership between China and Germany and also the 40th anniversary of Nantong becoming the first coastal Chinese cities opening to the outside world, Zhang added.

She expressed expectations that both sides will take this visit as an opportunity to enhance their exchanges and cooperation and cultivate emerging industries to help Nantong emerge as the priority of German enterprises to invest in the Yangtze River Delta.

She also hopes that they will further their scientific cooperation and people-to-people exchanges through mutual visits between youth and in fields such as education, medical treatment, culture, and tourism.

Biber thanked Nantong authorities for their support of German enterprises, noting that China and Germany boast a long history of friendly exchanges, with the friendship between Troisdorf and Nantong now stronger than ever.

He pointed out that Troisdorf is one of the areas in Europe with the highest concentration of technologies and talent, and he hopes that both sides will deepen exchanges to contribute to the industrial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.