The 2019 Shandong International Friendship Cities Conference for Cooperation and Development kicked off on Oct 16 in Jinan, capital of East China’s Shandong province, gathering people from around the world to work toward strengthening exchanges and cooperation.

Over 880 representatives from 33 countries attended the event, including people from cities and states that have strong relations with Shandong, foreign diplomatic envoys to China, and representatives from the South Korean and Japanese consulates in Qingdao. 

Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shandong, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony, stating that Shandong has been promoting enhanced communications with its sister cities in multiple areas, including trade, culture, education, tourism, and environment protection. The province has so far established friendly relations with 221 cities.

Liu added that this year marks 40 years since Shandong first began forming sister-city relations. Over the past four decades, Shandong has made tremendous efforts to forge strong cooperative relationships with cities around the world.   

He expressed hope that Shandong’s partner cities would increase communications, exchanges, and cooperation in various areas and start a new chapter in their relations through mutual learning and shared benefits. 

Shandong also forged a number of new sister city partnerships during the opening ceremony. 

A governor/mayor’s dialogue among Shandong’s partner cities, business talks, and SME match-matching events will be held during the conference.

A large photo exhibition is also being held on the sidelines of the event to showcase partner city relations and major achievements over the years.

An International Partner City Trade Fair is being held from Oct 15 to 17 in Jinan and from Oct 17-20 in Qingdao, giving people a chance to explore what makes each partner city special.

The event was jointly organized by the Shandong government and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). 

Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shandong, delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Shandong International Friendship Cities Conference for Cooperation and Development on Oct 16. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

New sister-city ties and cooperation agreements are signed at the opening ceremony. [Photo/dzng.com]