A NEW era of business and tourism co-operation between Greater York and booming China is dawning.

A delegation of industrial, cultural, tourism and media heavyweights from Quzhou (pronounced Chu Jo) in the west of Zhejiang province arrives in York on Thursday to discuss ways of forging serious links between the two cities.

The visit will include a tour of York Science Park's three innovation centres, where space has been reserved for any incubation operation from China seeking a foothold in Europe.

It immediately follows a visit to York Science Park today of a separate delegation from Hesei City in Anhui province, including planners and engineers. They were hoping to learn how to create a similar success story at home.

It also comes hot on the heels of a tour of York earlier this month by the Chinese ambassador, His Excellency Zha Peixin. who was said to be "very impressed and interested" in the ancient English capital both as tourist destination and as a centre of scientific research and enterprise.

It comes against a background of increasing education links with York, given that there are 800 Chinese students, mostly postgraduates, on courses at the University of York and at York St John College, as well as staff exchanges between York and Nanjing and Zhejiang Universities.

Thursday's visit was arranged by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, which next month establishes its first Chinese office in Hangzou. That is also in Zhejiang province, which in itself has a huge economy with a population as big as Britain's.

Among the Quzhou visitors will be Shao Jianxiong, chairman of Jiangling Electrical Appliances Company Ltd, of Jiangshan City who wants to meet David Hunter, sales director of GSPK Circuits of Knaresborough, a firm which has already established its own office in China.

The entire party will tour the York Science Park in the morning to see what facilities for research and development have to offer new science-based Chinese firms seeking a foothold in the UK.

Dave Taylor, marketing director of york-england.com, the new inward investment organisation for York and North Yorkshire, is organising the tour in the city.

He said: "As a matter of policy the City of York Council has only ever twinned with Munster and Dijon.

"But what we might seek to do is to create a business relationship with Quzhou in the same way as we have forged links as a city with Denver, Colorado.

"We know that China has a great deal of research and development, but in some areas it is not as cutting edge as ours and York may be able to offer Chinese companies help to set up in the Science Park along with an opportunity to upgrade their research."

Updated: 13:37 Tuesday, April 27, 2004