I was intrigued and pleased to learn that Dubai was seeking to strengthen its relationship with the Chinese city of Shanghai. The municipalities of the two cities are to "twin" in a bid to extend the mutual co-operation that has been growing between the two metropolitan centres, which are beginning to dominate business in their respective regions.
This can only be for the good. Dubai has much to learn from Shanghai, which in the past 20 years has recovered its former position as the commercial and financial capital of China, having lost much of its old glory during the austere days of Maoist communism. Now it is a dynamic and exciting city, with a population of 20-plus million, each of whom seems to have a natural entrepreneurial talent.
Dubai is still small in comparison, of course, but the plan is to increase the population to two million by 2015. This will required investment in infrastructure and services on a Shangainese scale, but with a commitment to environmental and social standards that the Chinese sometimes seem to neglect.
The Shangahai authorities have only recently woken up to the fact that an urban centre of such size needs emphasis such factors if it is to attract a talented workforce. Dubai must incorporate these elements in its plans at the earliest stage.
One area where Dubai should learn to avoid the mistakes of Shanghai is in the financial market. The Shanghai stock exchange was the best performer in the world last year, with an increase of 140 per cent as equity fever gripped the Chinese. This year, however, it has already fallen more than 50 per cent.
Dubai went through its own version of this cycle in 2006. Maybe the DIFC and the Shanghai financial authorities should combine their experiences and work on way to construct a solid model for emerging financial markets.