On November 10th , hosted by CPAFFC, CIFCA and Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, undertaken by Chongqing Foreign Affairs Office, 2016 China International Friendship Cities Conference was successfully held in Chongqing. Mr. Sun Zhengcai, Secretary of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, Mr. Li Yuanchao, Vice President of China, Mr. Sun Zhengcai, Secretary of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, Mr. Huang Qifan, Mayor of Chongqing, Madame Li Xiaolin, President of CPAFFC and CIFCA, Mr. Zhang Ming, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Mr. Edward Ssekandi, Vice President of Uganda, Mr. Hatoyama Yukio, former Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Willem Kok, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, etc. attended the conference and delivered speeches respectively.
In response to President Xi Jinping's proposal for friendship cities work, Mr. Li Yuanchao made three suggestions: firstly, increase exchanges among friendship cities and deepen people’s friendship; secondly, share experience in urban planning and promote innovative development of cities; thirdly, expand win-win cooperation and share fruits of urban civilization.
Madame Li Xiaolin pointed out that friendly exchanges between local governments are the cornerstone for the establishment of friendly relations between countries. As an important way for exchanges with foreign countries, China international friendship cities activities have opened channels for Chinese local governments to establish long-term, stable and extensive connections with the international community. At present, countries around the world share prosperity and security and stick together through thick and thin, growing into a community of common destiny. CPAFFC and CIFCA will continue to use their own advantages to promote the establishment of friendship city relations, and at the same time, make efforts to improve the quality of friendship city exchanges, and take focused as well as targeted methods to promote the healthy, rapid and sustainable development of international friendship cities activities.
More than 400 foreign delegates from 56 countries, 144 cities as well as 51 city organizations, and over 200 Chinese delegates from 107 cities of 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions attended the conference.
With the theme of “Innovation for Development and Cooperation for Sharing”, theme forums on “Innovation-led City Development”, “Low Carbon City and Green Home”, “City Cultural Branding through Opening up”, and “Tourism Innovation, the Incentive to Modern Service Industry” were held at the conference. Also, signing ceremony of newly twined friendship cities was held and the “Chongqing Initiative” was issued. Chinese and foreign friendship cities which had made outstanding contributions to the course of friendship cities in the past two years were awarded at the conference as well.The China International Friendship Cities Conference is held every two years and embraces its fifth this year. The next conference will be held in Wuhan.
