Representatives from Greater Manchester Authority joined an online exchange session with the IUC team and with Dr. Ronald Hall – senior advisor to DG REGIO – to reflect on the bilateral exchanges held in China and Europe in the last 12 months, focusing on the development of the Urban Cooperation Action Plans (UCAPs) and the implementation of the pilot projects.

Manchester was interested in sharing experiences post-Covid19 and in further developing the Salford pilot project with Yangzhou (horticultural cooperation and sistership agreement). Discussions included the possible collaboration between Salford Media Lab and China, especially with Salford as a testbed for digital infrastructure. The IUC team proposed Yangzhou’s “Peking University Science Park” as a possible counterpart. Greater Manchester experts underlined the interest of cooperating with Chinese cities on circular economy issues, possible university cooperation and hydrogen technologies/infrastructure. A major area of exchange was the reestablishment of public services after the Covid crisis, especially public transport – here Greater Manchester is happy to exchange experiences with other European cities. Experts discussed about instruments for restructuring and redeveloping commercial areas in city centres after the crisis.