As tariffs and the war with Iran have raised geopolitical tensions ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing next month, San Francisco is bolstering its own diplomatic ties with China during Daniel Lurie’s first international trip as mayor.
On Sunday, Lurie announced a partnership between the San Francisco and Shanghai conservatories of music. The five-year commitment, which includes student and faculty exchanges, will encourage artists in both cities to perform and research music together.
“Strong arts, culture, and music organizations are critical to our economic comeback,” Lurie said. “With this partnership, we will open the door to deeper collaboration on performances, lectures, and academic and artistic programs that will strengthen cultural ties between San Francisco and Shanghai.”
Lurie’s trip began Saturday in Shanghai and ends later this week in Seoul, South Korea — two sister cities of San Francisco. The tour is meant to promote cultural exchange and spark the return of tourism from Asia, which dropped off during the pandemic and has yet to recover.
In 2024, Mayor London Breed described similar aspirations during her trip to Shanghai, where she vowed to increase flights, expedite visas, and bring giant pandas to the San Francisco Zoo.
In 2019, some 15% of $7.7 billion in international spending in SF came from Chinese visitors, according to the city’s tourism bureau, the San Francisco Travel Association.
Seven years later, as City Hall stares down a billion-dollar deficit, Chinese spending in SF remains at about half its pre-pandemic peak.
The partnership between the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and its counterpart 6,000 miles away marks the first milestone in Lurie’s visit, where he has already visited Shanghai’s Grand Opera House, Natural History Museum, and Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall.
Lurie’s office said the cultural exchanges build on the mayor’s efforts to boost SF’s standing as a global music destination.
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