History
RCRO was established in Shanghai in 1987 as a joint initiative of City of Rotterdam, Port of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce, Rotterdam City Development Corporation; in cooperation with members of the Rotterdam business community; and with support of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Reason for the set-up was to provide local follow up/ body to the sistercity relationship between Shanghai and Rotterdam (initiated in 1979). Also RCRO has served from its start as gateway to Shanghai and beyond for Dutch companies.
Besides the strong support from Rotterdam, RCRO enjoys the support from the People's Republic of China, the City of Shanghai, and the Netherlands. This was especially symbolized with the 1987 opening ceremony attended by former Chinese President and former Shanghai Mayor Jiang Zemin and former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers.
Both functions as Rotterdam representative in Shanghai and Gateway to Shanghai remain in place today and are supported by all relevant governments.