Guangzhou

Status:

Sister City

Population:

16.4m

Location:

Guangdong province, located in southern China

Industry:

Export Driven. The port of the city acts as a transportation hub.

Background:

Guangzhou and Birmingham became partners in 2006.
After the establishment of the sister city relations, the University of Birmingham opened a full-time office in Guangzhou, with significant academic link-ups with universities and medical institutions.
Birmingham head-quartered law firm Gowling WLG also has a full-time office in Guangzhou and business links continue to grow between the two cities.
Birmingham City Council has helped train over 200 of Guangzhou Municipal Government civil servants in cooperation with the school of Local Government at the University of Birmingham.

Latest updates:

A group of music students from Guangzhou took part in the UK–China Sister Cities Cultural Exchange Programme in July 2025. Learn all about it here: Birmingham hosts inaugural UK–China Sister Cities Cultural Exchange Programme – Distinctly Birmingham

Key initiatives include:

Education and training

Young Women Into Leadership (You WIL) Summit – You WIL is BCC initiative and an empowering programme for the future generations of young women, aspiring to be the leaders of tomorrow.
UK-China festival
- In July 2019, Birmingham hosted its first UK-China festival with the aim of promoting business, academic and cultural opportunities. Birmingham invited Guangzhou to be part of the programme.