Leicestershire's Links with China

Leicestershire’s link with Sichuan Province, China first began in 1984 when the Governor of Sichuan visited Leicestershire to discuss cooperation in business, trade, culture and education.

In November 1988, a newly appointed Governor, Mr Zhang Haoruo, visited Leicestershire to sign an agreement on the establishment of a friendly relationship between the County of Leicestershire and the Province of Sichuan.  The agreement referred to exchanges, links and co-operation in the fields of industry, agriculture, trade, science, technology, culture, education, public health and tourism.  The purpose of the agreement was to promote a continuous development of economic and cultural links between Leicestershire and Sichuan.

Since then a wide range of activities have taken place between the two regions to promote business, educational and cultural exchange, science and technology.

School links were first established in 2002 and in March 2004 the Leicester Shire – Sichuan Trade Bureau was launched. This is now the East Midlands China Business Bureau      

In 2006 Leicestershire was one of only three regions in the country to be awarded a HSBC grant, administered by the British Council, to support the development of school partnerships with China.

The school partnerships offer our pupils a wonderful opportunity to prepare themselves for the world of work in a global economy. Working together they will develop their awareness of China’s position and influence in the world and have the opportunity to study Mandarin Chinese and learn about Chinese culture.

There are 11 Leicestershire schools involved in this project which includes the following activities:

The schools involved are: