June 26, 2014
PDC has played a central role recently in establishing trade city partnerships between Portland and cities in Brazil, China and Colombia. The partnerships establish specific actions – advancing foreign direct investment, creating an exchange of best practices at the city level- that open doors for our firms in foreign markets.
Portland’s latest such partnership is with Changsha, the capital of China’s inland Hunan Province, and marks Portland’s first trade city partnership in Asia. Both cities are midsize ($140-150 billion) metropolitan economies, split by a large river with many bridges, expansive parks and green space, and a desire to develop sustainably.
Based on this connection, PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton traveled to Changsha to join leaders there in signing a mayoral-level trade-city partnership last week that connects Portland’s cluster of sustainability-focused firms, branded under the banner of “We Build Green Cities,” with the fast-growing Chinese market for environmentally-conscious urban development.
Read more: Think Locally, Act Globally: Changsha and Portland, Brookings.edu
