Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, Guangzhou China Mayor Wen Guohui, and City of Los Angeles USA Mayor Eric Garcetti have extended the six-year-old Tripartite Economic Alliance between Auckland and its partner cities.

This relationship was launched to boost economic, trade and investment opportunities between the three cities and deepen Auckland’s connections with two of the economic powerhouses in the Asia-Pacific region.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the partnership has already brought economic benefits for Auckland.

“This economic alliance has delivered multimillion-dollar business deals for New Zealand businesses, created jobs and spurred economic growth in our city,” he says.

“As New Zealand’s only city of scale, Auckland will play a key role in the national recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The unique tri-city partnership that Auckland has with these two Pacific gateway cities is critical in ensuring we stay relevant and connected internationally. 

“China and the US are major markets for Auckland, and our innovative businesses can leverage this partnership on the world stage.”

Auckland Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore says, “Auckland’s success is built around the strength of our people and our partnerships. I look forward to continuing this Alliance and hope that we are able to connect with our partner cities in person again soon.”

The three cities will start the third round of cooperation through 2022. In addition to economic interests, they will explore cooperation in the areas of COVID-19 response and emergency preparedness, climate action and green ports. There’s interest and close coordination with New Zealand’s education, film, and trade sectors.

The Alliance has won several awards both nationally and internationally. The awards have raised Auckland’s profile and reputation and affirmed the Alliance as an exemplar of innovative international city-to-city engagement. Alliance activity will complement Auckland’s involvement in other international city networks, such as the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), which is chaired by Mayor Garcetti, City of Los Angeles.

Guangzhou will host the Tripartite event (mostly likely a virtual event) in 2021. Last year’s event was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic. The 2019 event was hosted in Auckland during TechWeek.