In late August 2019, the first mayor of Hamburg, the free Hanseatic city of Hamburg, Dr. Peter Tschentscher will lead a delegation to visit Shanghai. The delegation has a strong lineup with prominent figures from the political, economic and scientific circles of Hamburg. Not only the high-ranking officials of the Hamburg city government, but also the corporate executives of the Hamburg economy pillar industry, such as the elites from the port logistics industry, life sciences, bio-medicine, artificial intelligence and culture and science. At that time, the 3rd Shanghai-Hamburg Business Forum and the Metropolitan Circle Smart City Innovation Theme Forum will be held. The main objectives of this forum are as follows: Firstly, to strengthen economic and trade cooperation and exchanges between the two cities and to expand bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, and to strengthen deep-level cooperation and mutual investment in the fields of shipping, logistics, port development and trade. The second is to strengthen cooperation in the fields of advanced manufacturing and technological innovation in the metropolitan areas of the two places, especially to strengthen the two-way exchanges and cooperation in the field of "Internet of Things" and the Belt and Road initiative, and to promote cooperation and exchange in innovation, R&D and production between enterprises in the two places.

This time, the Shanghai-Hamburg Business Forum will focus on the theme of common concern of the two cities, and conduct in-depth discussions and exchanges on the two topics of "intelligent transportation" and "urban digitalization and artificial intelligence", which will surely collide with innovation. The city of Hamburg will host the ITS Intelligent Transportation World Congress in 2021, and the digital transformation of the city will help future travel. Representatives of the Hamburg City Public Transportation AG will report on the latest developments in Hamburg's intelligent transportation system strategy with colleagues from Shanghai. At the same time, innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence provide more possibilities for the digital development of cities. Experts from the Shanghai Urban Planning Design and Research Institute will exchange practical examples of innovative technologies in the city with friends in Hamburg. The Shanghai-Hamburg Business Forum provides a platform for direct dialogue between the two cities.

Since Shanghai and Hamburg had a sister city relationship in 1986, the two cities have been conducting frequent exchanges in the fields of politics, economy, culture, education, science and technology, and both sides have similar commercial genes. As an important node in China's the Belt and Road and a European hub, Hamburg has become the epitome of pragmatic cooperation between China and Germany. Thanks to its unique geographical advantages and the innovative spirit of the "smart port" strategy, the Hamburg Port has secured its position as Germany's No. 1 and Europe's third largest port, and is the veritable Sino-German trade port. According to the information provided by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, Hamburg and even German companies are paying close attention to the Belt and Road initiative to collect relevant information and find suitable opportunities to participate in. At the same time, Germany has become one of the most popular overseas investment destinations for Chinese companies. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the bilateral trade in goods between Germany and China reached 193 billion euros in 2018, which means that China has become Germany's largest trading partner in the world for the third consecutive year. Against the background, the 3rd Shanghai-Hamburg Business Forum will inject new vitality into the future cooperation between the two sides and bring new development opportunities to all industries in the two cities.