历史的轮回

作者：英国《金融时报》商业编辑约翰•威尔曼(John Willman)
2006年12月8日 星期五


当 亨利•菲茨-艾尔温(Henry Fitz-Ailwyn)1189年成为伦敦金融城首任市长的时候，中国文明已经有大约3000年的历史。这个英格兰最大城市的人口当时还不足3万人，而 中国南宋都城杭州的人口已经超过了100万。当时中国的生活标准远远高于英国，在其后的一百年，欧洲商人开始沿着“丝绸之路”(Silk Road)穿越中亚，前往中国购买丝绸、瓷器等奢侈物品。同时，他们也带回了一些发明，包括指南针、火药和印刷术。

在后来的朝代更迭中，中国滑向衰落，而伦敦则跃升为一个全球帝国的首都，继而又成为一个主要的国际金融中心。不过，欧洲现在又派出了自己的使者和商人，前往东方寻求财富和机遇。

白 乐威(David Brewer)就是其中的一位，他是伦敦金融城第678任市长，直至最近由史达德(John Stuttard)接任。今年9月，他率领一支60多人的代表团，进行了为期10天的中国之旅，向中国企业推销伦敦金融城的服务。金融城市长颇具中世纪风 格的办公室，成为在全球范围内推广英国金融服务业的前沿阵地——尽管金融城有人担心，这个有着800年之久历史的机构，是否足以承担这样的责任。

在 一个温暖的周六上午，我加入了这个由金融城高层人士、专业顾问和投资者组成的代表团，乘巴士前往杭州。杭州位于上海以南，处于中国企业腹地的中心。马可 波罗(Marco Polo)曾把它形容为“天堂之城、世界上最华美的城市”，现在，仍有旅游者从全球各地赶来，一睹传统中国宝塔、寺庙和美丽的西湖。不过，白乐威一行此次 3小时的旅行，是为了来说服杭州迅速增长的企业到伦敦融资——从伦敦的风险资本投资者手中，或通过在伦敦证交所上市。

这位市长现年66 岁，身材矮胖、穿着漂亮的休闲夹克和长裤，他率领自己的随行人员走入杭州世界贸易中心大饭店。这是一家没什么名气的混凝土建筑，面对着一 条交通拥堵的三车道公路。在酒店一层，卫浴产品制造商正举行一场贸易展。不过，我们上了几层楼来到一个会议中心，有20多家当地企业已经到场。主持会议的 是伦敦亚洲资本公司 (London Asia Capital)，这是一家总部设在英国的商人银行集团，已经把7家中国企业带到了伦敦市场，它希望市长大人的驾到，能鼓励其它企业随之效仿。

这 应该不难做到。东京证交所在10多年的经济停滞后奄奄一息，而纽约市场则被“后安然时代”涌现的一批监管新规弄得越来越没有吸引力。不过，这次会议似乎 有些开局不妙，当时，杭州市副市长金胜山走上前台，讲台上方悬挂着巨大的红色横幅，上面用英语和汉语写着欢迎代表团的标语。这位衣着考究的副市长表示，许 多西方投资者已来到这个城市寻找机遇，但英国企业一直为数稀少。

他说道：“浙江省有8000多家企业得到了中国境外的投资，但没有一家得到来自英国的投资。”虽然有13家当地公司在海外股票交易所上市，但没有一家在伦敦上市。

不过，白乐威是个“中国通”，他精心准备的演讲立见成效。“25年前我首次到中国，这次是我第105次访问中国。我是伦敦金融城第678任市长，你们都知道，8是一个吉利的数字。”

接 下来就开始推销。他表示，伦敦已经成为全球最大的国际金融中心，因为它能够在监管得当的市场上，通过透明、高效率的运作来处理交易。前来伦敦的中国企业 会受益，因为金融城高水准的公司治理和责任心能使这些企业对国际投资者充满吸引力。最后是联络私人感情，白乐威赠送给副市长一个伦敦金融城市长官邸 (Mansion House)模型。白乐威指着模型的正门表示，等金胜山亲自来看看伦敦能给杭州提供什么的时候，他期待能够迎接他。

接 下来一项是为伦敦亚洲资本中国分公司的经理人颁发证书，鼓励他们找出该地区最具前景的中国企业。踏着老约翰•施特劳斯(Johann Strauss the Elder)《拉德斯基》进行曲(“Radetzky” March)的铿锵节奏走上台的32个人，每人都被授予了一个证明其身份、镶框的证书，还摆好姿势与金融城市长合影。

伦敦亚洲资本首席执行官西蒙•利特尔伍德(Simon Littlewood)表示：“这些证书将摆放在他们办公室最引人注目的地方，激励他们日后更加努力。”他是毕业于牛津大学的会计师。

随 后，看起来很年轻的伦敦亚洲资本大中国区首席执行官米登峰在会上大谈未来的挑战和机遇。为了证明这番讲话的结论，他介绍了食品添加剂制造商——中国生物 食品有限公司(China Biofoods)的首席执行官张建国。他自豪地告诉大家，就在两天前，这家公司在伦敦亚洲资本的指导下，在伦敦Plus股票交易市场(前身为OFEX) 上市。

最后，一位身披藏红色迦裟、剃度过的佛教僧侣被请上台，据介绍，他是这家公司的宗教顾问，签名认可该公司的产品。

“佛教的本质就是行善，”这位来自著名的嵩山少林寺的功夫大师释延超说道。“张先生的公司使用少林寺秘方，生产好的产品。”

接着，他摆好姿势与金融城市长合影，作为市长府邸模型的回礼，他送给市长一套佛教冥想教程CD。

白 乐威一年的任期于11月10日正式结束，当天他把剑、权杖及其它一些任职标志移交给史达德。史达德是普华永道(PwC)会计师事务所的一位合伙人。这位 第679任金融城市长从伦敦市政厅(Guildhall)一路走到皇家法庭(Royal Courts of Justice)，在王座司(Queen's Bench)法官面前宣誓效忠女王——这是约翰国王1215年批准的宪章所要求的程序。

作 为伦敦金融城市长游行日(Lord Mayor's Show)的一部分，这一段路程是乘坐装饰华丽的镀金马车走完的，还伴有代表金融城企业、同业公会、慈善机构和警方的三英里彩车队伍。史达德身着中世纪市 长长袍，向站在街道两边的数万名伦敦市民挥舞他那嵌满羽毛的帽子，这一壮观的活动以泰晤士河畔的一场焰火表演而结束。

他在任的这一年，将 见证数次精心策划的典礼。首先是市政厅举行的伦敦金融城市长宴会，向其前任致意。当日逾700名嘉宾到场，聆听英国首相在众多主教、郡 长、商界及司法界领袖面前，回顾英国在国际上的地位。英国外交大臣将在复活节宴会上向伦敦的外交官们发表演说，而英国财政大臣将于明年6月在金融城市长官 邸(Mansion House)举行的银行家宴会上，发表一年一度的演讲。

伦敦金融城市长代表英国女王和她的政府，款待来访的国家元首 和外国要人，接待海外商业领袖，并与英国其它金融中心——伦敦将它们视为“金融城”品牌的一部 分——保持联系。他或她——曾有一位女性市长——是伦敦金融城的最高地方长官、伦敦港(Port of London)长官和伦敦城市大学(City University)名誉校长，并主持伦敦金融城的管理机构Court of Common Council和Court of Aldermen。史达德在这一年间将出席由伦敦同业公会组织的多次筹款活动，并发表从金融事务到慈善和赞助等主题的600多次演讲。

但 在壮观与华丽的背后，如今的伦敦金融城市长们还有一项更严肃的工作要做。他们要充当在全世界推销英国金融服务的象征人物——直到最近，英国才认识到这一 角色的重要性。英国财政大臣戈登•布朗(Gordon Brown)以前对金融城颇为冷淡（对零售银行更采取敌对态度），但他已在推广伦敦作为全球金融中心的工作中，加入了英国政府的支持。今年早些时候，他任 命他的密友埃德•鲍尔斯(Ed Balls)担任负责金融城事务的部长级官员。

金融服务约占英国国内生产总值(GDP)的10%,其就业 覆盖范围不仅包括伦敦，还包括爱丁堡、利兹和布里斯托尔等英国其它金融中心。随着中国和其它亚洲 国家的崛起，英国制造业已经迅速萎缩。尽管如此，金融城的历史和专业技能，使它不仅拥有相对于欧洲对手的宝贵竞争优势，对其它地区金融中心也拥有优势。纽 约市长迈克尔•布隆博格(Michael Bloomberg)对伦敦金融城的发展非常关注，还任命了管理顾问研究这一问题。他曾于9月份表示：“从长期角度看，纽约的主要竞争对手是伦敦。对纽约 而言，伦敦的创新数量和新业务信息量确实令人不安。”

长期以来，历任伦敦金融城市长们穿梭于世界各地，宣扬在伦敦做生意的优点——他们一年中约有50天至80天在英国之外度过。如今，伦敦市政府与英国政府的合作更为紧密，以确保这些出访活动能够给英国金融服务产业带来最大限度的影响。

今年秋季，白乐威在他的任期内第二次访华——第一次的时候，他访问了中国南方城市深圳、重庆和香港。本次他的行程从北京开始，然后南下上海和杭州，最后抵达天津以及中国东北部的沈阳和大连。

在 上海，我出席了庆祝伦敦城与中国金融之都签署合作伙伴协议10周年的庆典。伦敦代表团成员列队走入上海市政府一间装修华丽的大厅，沿一侧坐成两排。上海 市的高级官员坐在对面，而白乐威和大权在握的上海市市长韩正（凑巧的是，他也是阿森纳队的球迷）坐在居中的两张大沙发上。

在镜头拍摄下，韩正表示，他希望深化双方的关系——加强人才与观点的交流。他还为白乐威授予了上海市白玉兰荣誉奖，以表彰两个城市间的联系。

韩正表示：“上海是一座年轻的城市，只有700年的历史，而它作为金融中心的历史更短。我希望本次周年纪念活动，成为双方扩大合作的一个契机。”

白乐威脖子上戴着一条沉甸甸的链子，上面挂着他的市长徽章。他对韩正市长表示感谢，并谈到了白玉兰树的药用性质可以追溯到1083年。作为回赠，他向韩正市长赠送了金融城的银龙勋章，并指出，中国和伦敦都将这种神秘动物视为一种象征——它守卫着伦敦城的入口。

当 天早些时候，伦敦商务代表团会晤了黄浦江外滩对岸的浦东新区领导。外滩曾是汇丰银行等欧洲银行的总部。如今，它们已经搬到了空间宽敞、设施现代的陆家嘴 金融贸易区，与上海证券交易所、期货交易所，以及即将开业的金融期货交易所相邻。金融城代表们希望与浦东民间和商界领袖建立直接联系，以使伦敦继续成为上 海乐于合作的国际中心。

接待的气氛是友好的，浦东新区副区长万大宁提到，他曾陪同中国前国家主席江泽民在伦敦访问数日，并希望更深入地了 解金融城的治理方式及基础设施。伦敦为工 薪族安排的交通和生活设施给他的印象尤为深刻——同多数老上海城区一样，浦东的交通较为拥堵，同时缺少吸引居民所须的酒吧、餐厅和商场。

他 表示：“我们未能有效开发城市功能。我们需要对本地机构和经济进行重组，以确保经济可持续增长。”金融城政策与资源委员会主席迈克尔•辛德 (Michael Snyder)提议举行一系列定期会议，以交流信息。金融城政策与资源委员会权力强大，是金融城实际上的日常管理机构，并负责创建了金融城的国际办事处网 络

在行程的每一站，这位市长都会举办“走向全球”(Going Global)论坛，由金融城的金融顾问们讲解赴伦敦上市的优点，以及企业如何在金融城募集风险投资。在中国东北的沈阳，论坛的听众有衣着正规的中国国有 企业管理人士，来自钢铁制造商北台钢铁集团(Beigang Group)等企业。但也有来自阿斯创(Astron)等小企业的年轻时髦的企业家。阿斯创从事锆开采业务，其经理康蓉表示，她希望对全球股票交易所有更 多的了解。

Rosenblatt Solicitors 的合伙人尼尔·桑普森(Neil Sampson)说，“在研讨会上，有很多男士衣着随意，看起来就像18岁的年轻人。但事实上，他们可能至少40岁，经营着相当规模的企业。” Rosenblatt Solicitors专门帮助规模较小的中国企业赴伦敦市场融资。

“这些访问不会直接产生很大的收益，但提供了大量接触的机会。”桑普森补充称。“其中哪怕只有一笔达成了交易，那整个的努力和花费就都值得了。”

其 他一些成员随市长出访，看中的则是他获得的渠道。证券与投资协会(Securities & Investment Institute)致力于推广伦敦资本市场的专业标准，该协会首席执行官西蒙·卡尔汗(Simon Culhane)表示，他们曾试图启动在华业务，但遭遇了种种困难，加入代表团帮助他解决了这个问题。此前该协会曾五次派员赴中国，但尽管中英两国使馆都 付出了最大的努力，它还是未能搞清该向哪个机构提出申请。

此类代表团的访问能否成功，很大程度上取决于金融城市长的能力。一些代表团成员 表示，白乐威在亚洲国家是个给人印象特别深刻的行家，因为他在金融城保险经 纪公司塞奇维克(Sedgwick)工作的时候，曾先后在东京、北京和孟买筹建办事处。自那以后，他每年大约在亚洲呆三个月时间，与该公司当地雇员和外派 员工保持联系。他在大型、正规活动中轻松自如，而在回避潜在圈套时镇定灵活。

史达德可能也会同样轻松自如，因为他也在中国呆过：曾担任普 华永道中国区主席兼首席执行官5年。但金融城内有人担心，金融城市长的选举程序比较神秘，这意 味着伦敦不会永远这么称职的金融城市长。特别是该职位任职要求规定，候选人必须从25名市政官员(aldermen)中选出，必须有郡长 (sheriff) 经历。人们认为这一规定将很多有能力者挡在了门外。

选举过程十分漫长，只有那些能把大部分时间义务投入金融城工作的 人，才会考虑竞选。比如，当市政官意味着要奉献六年的时间，并且要成为一名地方官员——选 举自动提升地方官员的职位。作为金融城市长人选，首先得是选举产生的郡长——这是个从 “shire reeves”职位演变而成的职位，在金融城市长一职设立之前，它作为英国国王的代表负责管理金融城，征税，执行皇家法律。今天这一职位的工作包括辅助市 长完成公务，在老贝里(Old Bailey)招待中央刑事法庭(Central Criminal Court)的法官等。郡长官邸就设在老贝里。担任郡长的经历被视为一种测试，用于检验那些渴望当选市长的市政官。

伦敦金融城公司 (The City of London Corporation)目前正在讨论是否放宽这些要求。比如允许政务会成员参选市长(政务会成员近100人，每4年选举一次)。但该公司的法律顾问认 为，此类改革需要议会立法批准，而这正是金融城力图避免的。金融城公司不同寻常的民主形式引发了一些政界人士的争议：投票不仅面向居民，也面向金融城企业 ——包括那些外资企业。

(选举)委员会还拒绝取消担任郡长的要求。它声称，对一个如此引人关注的职位来说，当郡长是一种有意义的准备。不 过，它也正再次考虑，看是否需要地方官员 的经历，以吸引那些没有时间达到该要求的候选人。对那些心怀忧虑的金融城领袖来说这是不够的，他们担心今后四、五年的市长候选人达不到白乐威和史达德这样 的水平。其他人则担心，市长职位的结构——严格的一年任期——也不能充分发挥该职位的潜力。

一位代表团成员说：“市长一职对金融服务业颇 有帮助，但我担心市长的任期过短，无法建立持久的关系。一旦某位市长卸任，他（或她）就没有了可以继续扮演的 角色，不管他们已取得了何种成绩。而有时候他们的关系需要数年才能带来结果。我在想，是否可以为离任的市长安排一个为期一年的角色，甚至也为已当选但还未 就任的市长做出类似的安排？这样在三年内，他们中每个人都可以对特定地区承担实际的责任。”

一些金融城人士提到了另一位伦敦市长——大伦 敦地区政府(Greater London Authority)市长——所扮演的活跃分子角色。目前经民主选举产生的这位市长是肯·利文斯通(Ken Livingstone)，他一直认真对待他的任务之一：推动金融城作为全球领先的国际金融中心的声誉和地位。利文斯通支持兴建一些宏伟的现代建筑，在赋 予金融城更现代化的光芒方面，这可能是他最显著的贡献。在金融城市长办公室里，新、老市长的互补角色得到认可。

但代表团成员、伦敦国际金融期货期权交易所(Liffe)前任董事长杰克·维格斯沃斯(Jack Wigglesworth)认为，现状对伦敦很有利。

“我们很幸运，能有一批曾在金融城企业不同领域工作过的资深商界人士，他们都与中国打过交道，”他表示。“这可能有点像是个时代错误，但它可能非常有效。这对金融城有益，对整个国家也有益。”

译者/何黎









HAVE COACH, WILL TRAVEL

By John Willman
Friday, December 08, 2006


When Henry Fitz-Ailwyn became London's first lord mayor in 1189, Chinese civilisation was already about 3,000 years old. The population of England's largest city was fewer than 30,000, while Hangzhou, capital of the Southern Song dynasty, was home to more than a million people. China's standard of living was well ahead of Britain's, and in the following century European traders began travelling the Silk Road through central Asia to buy its luxury goods such as silk and porcelain. They also carried back a stream of inventions, including the compass, gunpowder and printing.

Under later dynasties, the Middle Kingdom slipped into decline, while London rose to become capital of a global empire and then a leading international financial centre. But now Europe is again sending its emissaries and traders to the east in search of wealth and opportunity.

One of them is David Brewer, who, until last weekend, when he was succeeded by John Stuttard, was London's 678th lord mayor. In September he led a 60-strong delegation on a 10-day trip around China to sell the City of London's services to Chinese businesses. The lord mayor's rather medieval office is at the forefront of the drive to promote the UK's financial services industry around the world - despite concerns in the City about whether this 800-year-old institution is capable of filling that role.

On a warm Sunday morning, I join the delegation of senior City figures, professional advisers and investors on a coach trip to Hangzhou, south of Shanghai, in the centre of China's entrepreneurial heartland. Marco Polo described it as “the city of heaven, the most beautiful and magnificent in the world”, and tourists still come from all over the world to see the beautiful West Lake with its traditional Chinese pagodas and temples. But Alderman Brewer and his party are making this three-hour journey to persuade its fast-growing businesses to come to London to raise capital - from its venture capital investors or through a listing on its stock exchange.

The lord mayor, a stocky 66-year-old dressed in smart casual jacket and trousers, leads his party into the Hangzhou World Trade Centre hotel, an anonymous concrete block facing on to a three-lane highway choked with traffic. On the ground floor, manufacturers of bathroom products are holding a trade fair, but we head up several floors to a conference centre, where more than 20 local businesses are represented. The host is London Asia Capital, a UK-based merchant banking group that has brought seven Chinese businesses to the London markets and hopes the Lord Mayor's presence will encourage others to follow suit.

It should be easy, with Tokyo's stock exchange moribund after more than a decade of economic stagnation and New York's markets made increasingly unattractive by the new layers of post-Enron regulation. But the session appears to start badly when Jin Shengshan, Hangzhou's deputy mayor, steps up to the podium under an enormous red banner welcoming the delegation in English and Chinese. Plenty of western investors have come to the city in search of opportunity, the sharply suited deputy mayor says, but British companies have been scarce.

“More than 8,000 businesses in Zhejiang [province] have received investment from outside China, but none have received investment from the UK,” he says. While 13 local companies had floated on overseas stock exchanges, none had gone to London.

Brewer is an old China hand, however, and has a well-rehearsed speech that presses all the right buttons. “I first came to China 25 years ago and this is my 105th visit. I am the 678th lord mayor of the City of London, and you will all know that eight is an auspicious number.”

Then comes the sales message. London has become the largest international financial centre, he says, because it can handle transactions on well-regulated markets with transparent and efficient operations. Companies that come to London from China will benefit because the City's high standards of corporate governance and accountability make them attractive to international investors. Finally, the personal touch, with a presentation to the deputy mayor of a model of Mansion House, the lord mayor's official residence in the City. Pointing to the front door, Brewer says he looks forward to welcoming Jin when he comes to see for himself what London has to offer.

The next business is the presentation of certificates to London Asia's Chinese branch managers, to encourage them to seek out the most promising Chinese companies in their regions. Each of the 32 comes up on stage to the thumping beat of Johann Strauss the Elder's “Radetzky” March, is presented with a framed document confirming their status and poses for a photograph with the lord mayor.

“These will have pride of place in their offices and will inspire them for years to come,” says Simon Littlewood, the Oxford-educated accountant who is London Asia's chief executive.

Next Mi Dengfeng, the youthful-looking head of London Asia's operations in Xi'an, harangues the conference on the challenge ahead - and the opportunities. To demonstrate its results, he introduces Zhang Jianguo, chief executive of China Biofoods, which manufactures food supplements. He proudly tells them it had been listed on London's Ofex Plus market two days earlier, under the tutelage of London Asia.

Finally, a shaven-headed Buddhist monk in saffron robes is invited on to the stage, to be introduced as the company's spiritual adviser and to endorse the product.

“The essence of Buddhism is goodness to people,” says Shi Yan Zhuo, kung-fu master of the famous Mount Songshan Shaolin temple. “Mr Zhang's company makes good products, using a Shaolin temple formula.”

Then he poses for photographs with the lord mayor and, in exchange for a model of Mansion House, presents him with a collection of CDs of Buddhist meditation routines.

Alderman Brewer's year of office formally ended on November 10, when he handed over the sword, mace and other badges of office to Stuttard, a partner in accountants PricewaterhouseCooper. The 679th lord mayor travelled from the City of London's Guildhall to the Royal Courts of Justice to swear allegiance to the sovereign in front of the judges of the Queen's Bench - as required by the charter granted by King John in 1215.

The journey from Guildhall is made in a horse-drawn, ornately gilded coach as part of the Lord Mayor's Show, a three-mile procession of floats representing the City's businesses, livery companies, charities and police force. Dressed in the medieval robes of office, Stuttard waved his plumed hat at the tens of thousands lining the streets in a display of pageantry that ended with a Thameside firework display.

His year in office will be marked with several set-piece ceremonies. The first was the lord mayor's banquet at Guildhall last Monday, in honour of his predecessor. More than 700 guests were present to hear the prime minister review the country's international position in the presence of leaders of church, state, commerce and the judiciary. The foreign secretary will address London's diplomats at the Easter banquet, and the chancellor of the exchequer will give the annual Mansion House speech at the bankers' dinner in June.

The lord mayor provides hospitality for visiting heads of state and foreign dignitaries on behalf of the Queen and her government, receives overseas business leaders, and maintains links with other UK financial centres that London regards as part of the “City” brand. He or she - there has been one woman - is the City's chief magistrate, admiral of the Port of London and chancellor of City University, and presides over meetings of the Court of Common Council and Court of Aldermen, the governing bodies of London's financial district. The year will be packed with attendances at fund-raising events organised by the City livery companies, and more than 600 speeches on subjects from financial matters to charity and patronage.

But behind all the pomp and pageantry, lord mayors now have a more serious job to do. They act as figurehead for the campaign to sell Britain's financial services around the world - a role whose importance to the country the government has only recently recognised. Having been cool about the City (and downright hostile to sectors such as the high-street banks), Chancellor Gordon Brown has thrown Whitehall's weight behind the promotion of London as a global financial centre, appointing Ed Balls, his closest confidant, as minister for the City earlier this year.

Financial services account for around 10 per cent of UK gross domestic product, providing employment not just in London but in other British financial centres such as Edinburgh, Leeds and Bristol. And while manufacturing industry has shrunk rapidly with the ascent of China and other Asian countries, London's history and expertise give it rare competitive advantage against not only its European competitors but also financial centres in other regions. Michael Bloomberg, New York's mayor, has become so concerned at London's growth that he has appointed management consultants to look at the problem. “Long-term, the city's main competitor is London,” he said in September. “The amount of innovation going on in London and the new business information in London is a really worrisome thing for New York City.”

Lord mayors have long travelled the world extolling the virtues of doing business in London - spending between 50 to 80 days a year outside the UK. Now Mansion House works much more closely with Whitehall to ensure that the visits deliver the maximum impact for Britain's financial services industry.

Brewer's autumn visit to China was his second in office - the first took him to the south, to Shenzhen and Chongqing as well as Hong Kong. This time, the itinerary started in Beijing, moving on to Shanghai and Hangzhou, and then Tianjin, Shenyang and Dalian in the north-east.

In Shanghai, I sit in at a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the partnership agreement between the City and China's financial capital. The delegation files into a sumptuously decorated room at the municipal hall, and sits in two rows on one side. Senior Shanghai officials sit opposite, and in the middle, two large chairs seat Brewer and Han Zheng, Shanghai's powerful mayor (and, incidentally, a keen Arsenal supporter).

As television cameras film the event, Han says he wants to deepen the relationship - exchanging talents, as well as ideas. He presents the lord mayor with the city's golden magnolia medal, in recognition of the links between the two cities.

“Shanghai is a young city that is only 700 years old, but it is even younger as a financial centre,” he says. “I hope this anniversary will be an opportunity to expand co-operation.”

Brewer, wearing his badge of office on a heavy chain around his neck, thanks the mayor, mentioning that references to the magnolia tree's medicinal qualities date back to 1083. In return, he presents Han with the City's silver dragon medal, noting that China and London share the mythical creature as a symbol, with dragons guarding the entrances to the City.

Earlier, the business delegation had met the administration of the Pudong New Area across the Huangpu river from the Bund, once the headquarters of European banks such as HSBC. Today they have moved to the spacious, modern financial district, along with Shanghai's stock exchange, futures exchange and soon-to-be-opened financial derivatives exchange. The City representatives wanted to establish a direct relationship with Pudong's civic and business leaders, so that London will continue to be the international centre Shanghai chooses to work with.

The reception is friendly, with Wan Daning, Pudong's deputy governor, saying he had spent several days in the City of London with former president Jiang Zemin, and wanted to learn more about how it was governed and its infrastructure. He had been particularly impressed with the City's transport arrangements and facilities for workers - like much of old Shanghai, Pudong is gridlocked and it is short of the bars, restaurants and shops necessary to attract residents.

“We have failed to develop urban functions,” he says. “We need to restructure local institutions and the local economy so that economic growth is sustainable.” Michael Snyder, chairman of the powerful policy and resources committee - which in effective runs the City day to day and has spearheaded the creation of its international office network - offers to set up a series of regular meetings to share information.

At each of the stops on the lord mayor's tour, a “Going Global” seminar is staged, at which City financial advisers explain the advantages of a London listing and how companies can raise venture capital in the City. In Shenyang in the north-eastern rustbelt, the audience includes sober-suited executives from state-owned enterprises such as the steelmaking Beigang Group. But there are also trendily dressed young entrepreneurs from small companies such as Astron, a zirconium-mining business, whose MD, Kang Rong, says she wants to know more about the world's stock exchanges.

“When you go into the seminars, there are many casually dressed men who look about 18,” says Neil Sampson, a partner at Rosenblatt Solicitors, which specialises in helping smaller companies come to the London markets from China. “In fact they're probably at least 40 and running substantial businesses.

“These trips don't yield much directly, but they provide a lot of contacts,” he adds. “If just one of these turns into a deal, it makes the effort and expense worthwhile.”

Other delegates have joined the lord mayor because of the access he gets. Simon Culhane, chief executive of the Securities & Investment Institute, which promotes professional standards in London's capital markets, says joining the trip helped him cut through the difficulties the SII had experienced in trying to start operations in China. Five previous visits had failed to find the right body to apply to - despite the best efforts of the British embassy in Beijing and the Chinese embassy in London.

The success of such delegations relies in large part on the character of the lord mayor. Brewer is a particularly effective operator in Asian countries, say several members of the delegation, because he opened the Tokyo, Beijing and Mumbai offices of Sedgwick, the City insurance broker. Since then he has spent around three months a year in Asia, keeping in touch with the company's local employees and expatriates. He is at ease in the big set-piece engagements, unflappable and twinkling as he sidesteps potential bear-traps.

Alderman Stuttard is likely to be equally at ease, since he too has spent time in China, as executive chairman of PwC's Chinese operation for five years. But there are concerns in the City that the arcane processes by which the lord mayor is elected mean London will not always be so well-served. In particular, the requirements that he or she is both elected from among the 25 aldermen and has served as a sheriff are thought to debar many capable individuals.

The selection process is lengthy and can only be contemplated by someone capable of devoting a large part of their time to the City's unpaid civic duties. The role of alderman, for example, is a six-year commitment and involves becoming a magistrate - election automatically elevates the holder to the bench. A would-be lord mayor must also first be elected sheriff, an office descended from the “shire reeves”, who predated the lord mayor and governed the City as the King's representatives, collecting royal revenues and enforcing royal justice. Today's duties include helping the mayor with his official duties and dining with the judges at the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey, where sheriffs have official residences. The shrieval year of a sheriff is seen as a testing-ground for any alderman who aspires to be elected lord mayor.

The City of London Corporation is currently discussing whether to relax these requirements, for example by allowing councilmen (just under 100 are elected every four years) to stand for lord mayor. However, its legal advisers believe that such a change would require parliamentary legislation, something the City is keen to avoid. Its unusual form of democracy is controversial among some politicians: voting is open not only to residents but also to City businesses - including those that are foreign-owned.

The committee has rejected lifting the requirement to serve as sheriff, saying it is a sensible preparation for such a high-profile office. It is, however, looking again at the need for aldermen to serve as magistrates, with a view to attracting candidates who cannot commit the time on the bench. This will not be enough for City leaders who are concerned that candidates for the mayoralty four or five years hence are not of the calibre of David Brewer and John Stuttard. Others worry that the structure of the mayoralty - a strict one-year term - is also failing to make the most of the position's potential.

“The mayoralty does a very good job for financial services, but I worry that the lord mayor's term is too short to build lasting relationships,” says one delegation member. “Once a mayor stands down, he or she has no further role to play - despite what has already been achieved. Sometimes those relationships take years to bring results, and I wonder if it would be a good idea to create a one-year role for the past mayor and even a similar position for the mayor-in-waiting. Each of the three could then take de facto responsibility for particular regions over a three-year period.”

Some City figures point to the activist role of that other mayor of London - the democratically elected head of the Greater London Authority. The current incumbent, Ken Livingstone, has taken seriously one of the tasks of his office, which is to promote the City's reputation and status as the world's leading international financial centre. Livingstone's championing of some great modern buildings is probably the most conspicuous of his contributions towards giving the City a more modern shine. In the lord mayor's office, there is acknowledgement of the complementary roles of the old and the new mayors.

But Jack Wigglesworth, a delegation member and a former chairman of Liffe, London's financial futures exchange, believes the status quo has served London well.

“We're lucky to have had a run of senior businessmen who have worked in different disciplines with City businesses that have experience of China,” he says. “It may look like a bit of an anachronism, but it can be very effective. It's good for the City and good for the country.”

John Willman is the FT's UK business editor.