China: Secrets of a successful enduring partnership revealed

How has a British-based sports adventure business cut through upheavals in global geopolitics to create a successful long-term collaboration with China? On the twentieth anniversary of our enduring partnership with Qingdao - the country’s Sailing City - we examine why long-term relationships matter in international trade.

Team Qingdao arrival into Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre

This month, March 2026, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet arrived in Qingdao, China, for the tenth time. It marks over twenty years of a remarkable and enduring partnership, where sport, cultural exchange and international trade have flourished.

The relationship between this British based adventure business and China’s Sailing City has remained strong and resilient, having blossomed independently of any shifts in UK and European Government policies and global geopolitics over two decades.

“The cooperation between the two parties has expanded from a single event to a comprehensive partnership in talent cultivation, cultural communication, and industrial development,” says Mr Zhu Yuetao, Deputy Secretary General of Qingdao Olympic Sailing City Development Association.

He emphasised that, from the outset, Clipper Ventures listened to Qingdao to fully understand its ambitions, aims and objectives. This was translated into an extensive partnership that extended well beyond competitive sailing to take full advantage of what the unique Clipper Race platform could realistically deliver.

Mr Zhu stated: “Clipper Ventures laid a solid foundation for the cooperation between us with a pragmatic attitude and professional spirit. The companies foresight and professionalism gave us great confidence...Over the past 20 years, Qingdao and the Clipper Race have continuously deepened their cooperation.”

Clipper 2005-06 Race Qingdao Team Entry Yacht

The opportunity to partner with a Chinese city emerged in the early 2000s when the Clipper Race was seeking a shipyard to build its second-generation fleet: ten identical 68ft stripped down ocean racing yachts designed by British naval architect Ed Dubois. A yard in Shanghai was successful in an international competitive tender.

Although Clipper Ventures’ co-founder and CEO William Ward was already familiar with the Chinese market where he had sourced products for import to the UK, this re-kindled his interest in the potential for developing mutually beneficial opportunities through a Clipper Race partnership with one of the country’s port cities.

This coincided with China being selected to stage the Olympic Games in 2008, co-hosted by Beijing and Qingdao – where the sailing competitions would be based. However, there was no experience of staging international sailing events, and the Clipper Race was ideally positioned to help Qingdao prepare for not only staging the Olympic Games in 2008 but also its longer-term goal to become China’s Sailing City.

William Ward and co-founder and chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston met with city officials to develop a comprehensive programme of both hosting, and participating in, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in an initial 5-year partnership including the 2005-6 and 2007-8 editions of the global event.

The first partnership agreement was signed in 2004 and outlined how the Clipper Race would help Qingdao prepare for the Olympics, build its own sailing credentials and expand aligned business, cultural and educational opportunities. In addition, the inclusion of a Qingdao branded yacht and team offered a global marketing opportunity to raise the city’s profile around the world alongside promoting international tourism and trade.

In September 2005 the Qingdao team joined nine other international destinations in the first outing of the Chinese-built fleet of Clipper 68s. The race route included Europe, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and Singapore before reaching Qingdao in Shandong province in March 2006.

This was the first international sailing event to take place in China, making Qingdao the first Chinese city to host an event of such a scale. It provided the opportunity for the city to fully experience and understand the facilities, requirements and additional support needed to successfully manage such an event.

Arrival into Qingdao, 2025-26 Edition

As Host Port, Qingdao also appreciated the added benefits of welcoming international visitors who would leave with a better-informed appreciation of the country and the culture, with eyes opened to this as a tourist destination. There was also engagement with the other international team sponsors who were keen to explore reciprocal trade opportunities.

By the time the fleet departed to cross the Pacific Ocean to head back to the UK via stopovers in North America, Qingdao had its eyes opened, not only to the practicalities of hosting an international event but also the huge potential to develop a longer-term programme for developing its marine and broader economy through the Clipper Race partnership.

Mr Zhu recalls that first race stopover in 2006 in terms of how it helped Qingdao develop the firm foundations to achieve its long-term ambitions. When the fleet returned two years later the facilities had been transformed ready for hosting the Olympic games just four months later. This was now a full dress-rehearsal to test their preparations.

Qingdao, UK trade delegation 2008

“In 2008, Qingdao was in the critical stage of preparing for the sailing events of the Beijing Olympics,” recalled Mr Zhu. “As the first Chinese city to host the Olympic sailing events, we urgently needed to test our event management capabilities, hotel reception capabilities, venue facilities and event support through top international events and accumulate experience in hosting events. The Clipper Race’s Qingdao stopover that took place in 2008 provided us with a rare opportunity to practice through an actual event.”

In 2006, Team Partners had also seen the opportunity the Clipper Race held to build international trade connections with China, and Qingdao in particular. Mr Zhu explains: “As the Clipper Race visited Qingdao, other team partners brought many mutually beneficial trade cooperation opportunities. These collaborations not only expanded Qingdao's international market, promoted trade cooperation, enhanced the city's image, and promoted the upgrading of industries, such as sailboat manufacturing, but also strengthened its international exchanges.

“First, as a top international event, the Clipper Race has attracted business partners from all over the world, providing Qingdao with an excellent platform to showcase its advantages and attract international investment. Second, it effectively enhances Qingdao's international profile and image as the "Sailing City". The arrival of business partners, and the development of international exchanges and cooperation further enhance Qingdao's international visibility and reputation.”

These principles have formed a firm foundation on which the partnership has strengthened and evolved to enhance Qingdao’s sailing, trade, tourism and cultural credentials on the world stage.

Despite more challenging east-west relations in recent years, the Clipper Race has built on sport as a neutral and positive platform to maintain a productive relationship with China through its long-term partnership with Qingdao. Simultaneously it has enabled Government leaders from the UK and other sponsoring countries to meet and promote their respective interests at Clipper Race events in ports of call or even on the water in sailing with guests aboard their nations’ branded yachts.

UK's GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign

One outstanding example was the UK’s GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign, where a British branded yacht carried business, trade, tourism and cultural messages around the world, including prominent activations in Qingdao between 2013 and 2018. Here, the UK Ambassador to China could meet with senior national and provincial Chinese officials alongside events promoting international trade opportunities.

The former director of the GREAT initiative on behalf of the UK Government was Conrad Bird. He observed: “These events with the Clipper Race in China demonstrated how effective this is at a government-to-government level, as well as at a business-to-business level. At the time we had a warm relationship and it really helped open up new markets between our countries.”

Clipper RX yacht unveiled in Qingdao

In 2012, Clipper Ventures commissioned its third-generation fleet from a shipyard in Qingdao and is now in the process of building its new fourth generation fleet of 12 72ft Clipper RX design yachts there - they are destined to debut on the 2027-28 edition of the global race.

The partnership with Qingdao has impressed national officials who are now working with Clipper Ventures on the development of a national sailing and training initiative. This is now at an advanced stage with smaller training and larger ocean racing fleets being commissioned from Chinese boatyards to meet the Clipper Race’s high-quality standards. This is linked with developing sailing academies in Qingdao and across the country, offering highly respected UK qualifications.

Qingdao Ambassadors 2025-26

The Clipper Race has been a powerful influence on the development of sailing across China through the example of what has been achieved in Qingdao. Cultivating talent and enhancing the development of sailing is a core priority for the partnership. For example, the Ambassador Programme has successfully trained nearly one hundred Chinese sailors, many of whom have become professional sailors or work in related professions in the sailing industry.

The first Chinese sailor to join the Clipper Race, was Guo Chan, who sailed on board Qingdao in the 2005-06 edition and became the first Chinese person to sail solo, non-stop around the world in 2013. On the Clipper 2013-14 Race, Qingdao Ambassador Vicky Song became the first Chinese woman to sail around the world.

Vicky said: “I was born in Qingdao and grew up there; it's a city I love. To become an Ambassador made me feel so proud and it was my obligation to promote my city to the world. It was an unforgettable memory for me. I felt really lucky to be selected, as it gave me the chance to gain so much sailing experience and so many friends in my life.”

(Left) Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, (Right) CEO William Ward OBE

Clipper Race co-founder and chairman, and record-breaking yachtsman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person in history to sail solo, non-stop around the world in 1968-69. 30 years ago, he created the Clipper Race with CEO William Ward OBE.

Sir Robin says: “I always enjoy our race visits to Qingdao. They have a great passion for the sea and have built great skills in sailing, and we are proud to have been part of the story.”

William Ward OBE adds: “We have built a strong partnership beyond the Clipper Race by facilitating international trade, tourism and so much more. Now we are creating a new sailing academy together with new boats for training. I can only envisage our relationship going from strength to strength on a continuous basis as our partnership enters its third decade.”

Parade of Sail out of Qingdao, 2025-26 edition

In conclusion, Qingdao has summarised the benefits of its 20-year partnership with Clipper Ventures as ‘fruitful’ because it is built on mutual benefit and respect, helping Qingdao to achieve its goals in a meaningful way through a long-term strategic approach:

A profound impact on Qingdao sports, especially sailing. Qingdao has accumulated rich experience in event organisation and operation, and has cultivated many outstanding ocean sailing talents, who have continuously injected new vitality into the development of Qingdao and even China's sailing industry.

In terms of tourism, the Clipper Race attracts tourists from all over the world to watch the race and activities, greatly enhancing Qingdao's attractiveness as a tourist destination.

In terms of trade and business cooperation, each Clipper Race Qingdao stopover holds partner brand promotion events which build a platform for Qingdao companies to communicate and cooperate with international companies and promote trade cooperation.

In terms of cultural exchanges, the "Qingdao" yacht stopped at ports along the race route promoting the city brand of "Sailing City". In addition, many cultural exchange activities were held during the Clipper Race Qingdao stopover, allowing people from all over the world to understand the history and culture of Qingdao, which greatly enhanced Qingdao's international reputation.

Mr Zhu summed up as follows: “Looking to the future, we believe that with the joint efforts from both sides, Qingdao will continue, via the Clipper Race platform, to showcase the unique charm of China's maritime culture to the world as the "Sailing City" and contribute more to the development of global sailing. The 20 years of cooperation have had a significant impact on Qingdao's tourism, trade, sports and cultural exchanges. We look forward to continuing to work with the Clipper Race towards a more glorious chapter together.”