What changed
Shanghai and France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region marked 40 years of friendly cooperation with an economic and trade dialogue in Shanghai on 13 October 2026.
The next phase will focus on:
- Advancing a proposed direct air route between Shanghai and Lyon.
- Expanding cooperation in medical care, new materials and technology.
- Deepening university, research, investment and vocational-training links.
The relationship began in 1986 and became a friendly-city partnership in 2008.
Why it matters
The proposed Shanghai–Lyon route is the clearest practical test of this renewed cooperation. If it moves forward, it could reduce the time and cost of travel between China’s largest city and France’s largest industrial region, making business visits, student exchanges and research partnerships easier to sustain. Its launch date, frequency and operating arrangements have not yet been announced.
The economic agenda also gives the relationship a sharper edge. Shanghai is highlighting artificial intelligence, integrated circuits and biomedicine, while Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is bringing strengths in industry, medical care, new materials and technology. That creates a useful map for future investment and joint research, even though no project budgets, investment values or signed implementation agreements were announced.
The partnership’s durability may matter as much as any single project. Over four decades, the two sides have kept cooperation alive across trade, education, science and cultural exchange. The new chapter will be judged by whether those broad intentions become working routes, laboratories, classrooms and training programmes.
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