Bocholt meets Wuxi: Delegation travels to China

An eight-strong delegation from Bocholt is currently in the Chinese city of Wuxi for the International Cherry Blossom Month and Festival celebrations. The trip is all about deepening relations between the two cities and initiating an official city friendship. Bocholt and Wuxi are looking back on 40 years of friendship this year.

The delegation will be led by Deputy Mayor Gudrun Koppers. Other participants include city councillors Michael Wiesmann and Martin Schmidt. The President of the German-Chinese Society, Stefan Schlier, is also taking part. Other members of the delegation are the entrepreneur Heinz Renzel from VKF Renzel with an employee and Geertje Richter, CFO Flender Ltd China. Sonja Wießmeier, Head of EUROPE DIRECT Bocholt, is accompanying the official delegation on behalf of the Bocholt administration.

The programme of the trip is varied and includes appointments in the fields of business, culture and administration. A central topic of the trip will be talks about a future official city friendship between Bocholt and Wuxi. The Bocholt City Council already made a decision to this effect at the beginning of March. Discussions on existing links, such as the school partnership between St. Georg-Gymnasium Bocholt and Wuxi High School No. 1, are also on the agenda.

As part of the celebrations to mark "40 years of city friendship between Bocholt and Wuxi", a twinning trip with 44 citizens from Bocholt to Wuxi is planned for October 2025. In autumn, St. Georg-Gymnasium is also expecting 15 students from Wuxi High School No. 1 and a secondary school from Wuxi will also visit the city of Bocholt in June.

There are also plans for a group from Wuxi to take part in the European Youth Camp in Bocholt. Further meetings will be discussed during the current visit.

The Bocholt delegation's trip to Wuxi is a strong sign of the growing friendship and co-operation between the two cities at a local level.