Stuart Crosby
Tauranga will be mounting a major push into Asia this year with a mayoral, business and education delegation to China, Japan and South Korea early next month, and trade missions to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Indonesia planned for later in the year.
"There's absolutely no doubt that a lot of this country's investment and prosperity are going to be built around our relationships with Asia," Mayor Stuart Crosby said.
"The more we build those relationships, the better it is for New Zealand Inc."
Mr Crosby would lead a delegation to Tauranga sister cities Yantai in China and Hitachi in Japan.
The trip would also take in a visit to Ansan, a city near South Korea's capital Seoul, in response to a visit by a mayoral delegation last year that requested closer engagement between the two cities, particularly on international students.
The sister city concept evolved during the 1980s to foster international relationships.
Tauranga has had sister city status with Yantai and Hitachi for more than 20 years, with city leaders making reciprocal visits roughly every four years.
"But for some time now we've had a particular focus on using the sister city relationships to help assist our economy," Mr Crosby said.
The highlight of the upcoming visit would be in Yantai, a port city in Shandong province, with agreements in the education sector.
Yantai University had agreed with the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and the University of Waikato to set up a four-year degree course made up of two years at Yantai University, a one-year business diploma at the polytech, then one year to complete a Bachelor of Business administration at the university.
"Yantai has international cities that they send students to, and they're keen to establish a pathway that includes study in Tauranga," Yvonne Tatton, Tauranga City Council's manager, governance and international relations, said.
Mr Crosby said when international students came to learn, they also connected with the city and the country.
"And when they go back home as young business people that connection will hold us in good stead as we move forward developing future business relationships."
The delegation would include Bay of Plenty Polytechnic chief executive Alan Hampton, University of Waikato vice chancellor Alister Jones, Education Tauranga chairman Graeme Lind and other representatives from the education sector.
In addition, the university's Professor Chris Battershill, who heads the Coastal Science Environmental Research Institute based in Tauranga, would hold discussions with Yantai University on the potential for marine research collaboration, particularly around aquaculture, bio-fuels, pharmaceuticals and bio-tech developments.
In Japan, the delegation would support a potential business agreement between a Hitachi company wishing to develop exports of sake to Tauranga, and other business promotion activities.