"We welcome German companies to expand their operations in the circular economy park and professionals to participate in its planning, design, research and management."

The Zhanjiang government is highly concerned with the balance between the steel industry and environmental conservation, Wang said.

German company SMS Group has finished design of main equipment for the hot rolling production line at the Baosteel plant in Zhanjiang, said Burkhard Dahmen, CEO of SMS Siemag and spokesman of the managing board of SMS Holding GmbH.

Environmental protection has become a priority in the steel industry in China, he observed. SMS Group is one of the several foreign equipment suppliers to Baosteel's complex in Zhanjiang.

The steel project in Zhanjiang follows an environmental management philosophy by using 116 mature and reliable energy-saving designs and devices, Chen said.

The purpose is to create a "green steel enterprise with the lowest emissions, the highest efficiency, and uses recycling and sharing", he said.

The steel industry in Germany, with the largest output in Europe last year, has become more sustainable in the past decade, said Hans Jrgen Kerkhoff, president of German Steel Federation.

Alexander Babich, head of the department of ferrous metallurgy at RWTH Apache University, said his department has been researching a number of environmental technologies such as blast furnace top gas recycling and reduction of superfine particulate matter emission that can help Zhanjiang.

Maritime Silk Road

Zhanjiang is also set to benefit from the country's strategy to build the "21st-century maritime Silk Road", Wang said.

He said Zhanjiang was one of the hubs of the ancient maritime Silk Road that linked the Pacific and Indian Oceans 2,000 years ago.

With over 2,000 km of coastline, the city is blessed with natural berths deep enough to carry 300,000-ton vessels and is planning to raise the capacity to 400,000 tons.

Zhanjiang Port has two 300,000-ton crude oil docks, a 250,000-ton iron ore dock and a dock capable of handling 800,000 containers a year.

Trade between Zhanjiang and Germany hit $37.31 million last year. Goods exported to Germany included machinery, electronics, aquatic products, ceramics and garments while imports from Germany included machinery, electronics, pulp, steel products and plastics.

Prawns worth $312,000 were exported to Germany last year, 3.5 times the figure the previous year.

Zhanjiang is a Chinese city that offers both business opportunities and an agreeable living environment, Wang said.

The city ranked fourth among 190 Chinese cities in average PM2.5 readings in the first quarter of this year in a report released by Green Peace in April.

The city also has sub-tropical weather, beaches and a variety of seafood.