HALTON Council plays host to a delegation of civic leaders and business people from the Chinese city of Tongling next week.

They will visit various businesses and places of interest.

Tongling is an industrial city with a population of 600,000 located in the Anhui Province on the banks of the Yangtze River.

Its main industry is chemical processing and the delegation are keen to exchange ideas with Halton's chemical and manufacturing companies.

The link with Halton began when a delegation from the Anhui Province visited the borough in April 1997 as part of a trade mission to Britain and last year a group from Halton visited Tongling.

Next week's visit, organised by the Council's European and Regional Affairs Division, is largely focused on economic links as the Chinese are keen to establish business connections and secure inward investment, although they are also very interested in wider social and cultural issues, particularly education.

They will visit a number of companies, the Auto Quest Stadium, Norton Priory Museum, Fairfield High School and Halton College.

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