SHANGHAI Party Secretary Han Zheng welcomed German President Joachim Gauck and his delegation yesterday and repeated Chinese President Xi Jinping's words that the two countries are seeing closer exchanges and cooperation than ever before.

Han said Shanghai has strong ties with Germany in areas of economy, trade, science and technology, culture and people-to-people exchange. Shanghai and Hamburg have been sister cities for 30 years. Many German companies operate well in Shanghai.

He said he believed Gauck's visit will help strengthen Sino-German cooperation in all areas.