Shandong province will host the 2023 World Friendly Cities Forum and Friendly Provincial and State Leaders Conference from Sept 24 to 28.

The main venue of the conference will be in Jinan. Economic and trade exchanges will also take place in cities such as Qingdao and Dongying.

According to Shandong officials, the event will be the largest international friendly city exchange event held in the province in recent years.

Over 1,000 guests, including foreign dignitaries, representatives from sister provinces and cities, diplomats and representatives from foreign institutions, large-scale economic and trade delegations, international friendly organizations, experts and scholars, and overseas media outlets, will attend the event.

The organizing committee has invited over 60 provincial governors and mayors from more than 30 cities, including Western Cape in South Africa, Bauchi State in Nigeria, and Upper Austria in Austria.

Themed "Green Development and Low-carbon Life", the event will feature 20 activities such as a plenary session, a friendly provincial and state collective meeting, international friendly city roundtable dialogues, bilateral and multilateral talks, education and economic trade exchange meetings, intangible cultural heritage displays, and artistic performances.

During the event, various kinds of declarations, reports and initiatives will be released and cooperation agreements between sister cities will be signed.

To date, Shandong province has established 623 sister-city relationships - the second most in China - with 94 countries.