On July 6, Consul General Tang Rui of the People's Republic of China in Manchester met with the newly appointed Mayor of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, Faisal Rana, at the latter's invitation. The two sides held in-depth discussions on deepening practical cooperation at the sub-national level in various fields.

Consul General Tang Rui extended his congratulations to Mayor Rana on his new tenure and noted that Rochdale is an important city in the north of Greater Manchester. In line with the development plan proposed by former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, the city is now committed to building the "Atom Valley" advanced manufacturing cluster and is poised for strong future growth. He expressed readiness to strengthen communication and exchanges between the two sides, and to help promote ever deeper and more substantive practical cooperation across the board.

Mayor Rana stated that he has visited China on several occasions and has witnessed first-hand the country's remarkable development achievements. He recognized that strengthening cooperation with China is an unstoppable trend of the times. He expressed his willingness to actively promote the municipal government and all sectors of the community to enhance friendly bilateral cooperation during his term of office.