Yunnan Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

The "Belt and Road·Colorful Yunnan" International Automobile拉力 race passed through Chiang Rai Province, and was well received by the local people; since 2016, the Incheon Metropolitan City and Yunnan Province have carried out three batches of about 100 people of青少年 mutual visits and exchanges, and the teenagers of the two places have deepened their mutual understanding and established deep friendship...Recently, at the 2025 Yunnan Province International Friendly City Cooperation Week event, representatives of friendly provinces and cities from 20 countries reviewed and summarized the achievements and experience of international friendly cities in enhancing people-to-people friendship, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, and promoting mutual learning among civilizations.

In November 1981, Kunming City and Fujisawa City in Japan concluded an international friendship agreement, becoming the first pair of international friendly cities in Yunnan Province, marking the beginning of Yunnan's international friendly city work. Over the years, Yunnan has continuously expanded its "international friendship city circle", establishing 116 pairs of friendly city relations with 37 countries in 5 continents, and has also established friendly exchange and cooperation relations with Chungqing Province in South Korea and Incheon Metropolitan City in Japan, Akita Prefecture. In addition, the People's Association for Foreign Affairs of Yunnan Province has established friendly organizational relations with 16 foreign friendly organizations, such as the Korea-China Cultural Exchange Association, the Laos China Friendship Association, and the Sri Lanka China Association. "At present, Yunnan Province is deepening and expanding the 'International Friendly City+' model, strengthening exchanges and mutual learning, and promoting the long-term and stable friendly partnership between each friendly city to fully transform into development results that benefit the people," said a relevant person in charge of the People's Association for Foreign Affairs of Yunnan Province.

Expand perceptible and tangible cooperation

In mid-April, the terraced fields of the Bali Regency in Indonesia are filled with the fragrance of young rice plants and the earthy scent of soil. As far as the eye can see, the landscape is a lush green, with clouds and mist enveloping the mountains like a thin veil, and the terraces are arranged in a orderly manner among the mountains.

Zhu Yu, deputy consul general of China in Denpasar, visited the experimental field of the "Heart to Heart, Yunnan Journey" organic rice cultivation project in Bali. Looking at the thriving seedlings, the local traditional village chief, Kawil, expressed gratitude to China and Yunnan Province. Kawil said: "Bali has a humid climate and sufficient sunlight all year round, which provides good conditions for rice growth. With the empowerment of advanced Chinese technology, the Subak agricultural irrigation system, which has been passed down for centuries and embodies the wisdom and culture of the Balinese people, has regained new vitality and vigor."

In May 2024, on the 21st anniversary of the establishment of friendly provincial relations between Yunnan Province and Bali Province, the Yunnan People's Association for Foreign Friendship launched the first "Heart to Heart, Yunnan Journey" project in Bali Province, Indonesia. The Chinese side provides high-quality rice seeds, fertilizers, agricultural machinery equipment, etc., and helps the local area carry out training from seed selection to terminal sales, producing rice products that meet market demand.

The project cooperation has now borne fruit, with the planting of about 17 hectares of organic rice, which has increased the yield from 4,000 kilograms per hectare to 4,500 kilograms per hectare, achieving a stable harvest of two to three seasons a year, benefiting 125 households and more than 400 people. "Kawil said that the 'rice of hearts' has not only helped villagers increase their income but has also built a "bridge of people's hearts" that inherits and continues the friendly relations between China and Indonesia, Yunnan Province and the island of Bali.

This year, the Yunnan Provincial People's Association for Foreign Friendship will continue to implement the Organic Rice Cultivation and Ecological Agricultural Tourism Cooperation Demonstration Project in Bali Regency, helping the local area to tap into its ecological resources, agricultural resources, and cultural resources, and to create new rural tourism formats such as "Countryside Coffee Shop" and agricultural cultivation experience, injecting new impetus into increasing the income of local farmers, improving the efficiency of agriculture, and promoting rural development.

The "friendship between cities" between Yunnan and the world can be told from a grain of rice, a celebration party, a training course, a memo, etc. Qujing City has participated in the "Me and the World" International Children's Series Art Competition held by the Volgograd State of Russia for several consecutive years, Pu'er City has continuously strengthened cooperation with the Vang Vieng Province of Laos in the prevention and control of the yellow-spined bamboo pest and other fields, the Yunnan People's Association for Foreign Friendship has jointly held an online business matching meeting between the two provinces and states with the Investment, Industry and Trade Bureau of Buhara State of Uzbekistan... In recent years, Yunnan has fully played the normal effect of "friendship between cities +", integrated the industry's advantages and resources within the province, and connected the dynamic and demand of friendship city cooperation, to promote and expand the practical cooperation in various fields with friendship city exchanges and cooperation, and to create a more effective and more interactive "friendship circle".

Building an innovative and pragmatic platform

After holding the "Heart to Heart, Yunnan Journey" 2024 Yunnan International友好 Cities Youth Exchange Week in October last year, the Yunnan Provincial People's Association for Foreign Friendship held the 2025 Yunnan Province International友好 Cities Cooperation Week in June, attracting hundreds of friendly provincial and municipal guests from 20 countries.

In addition to promoting practical cooperation in various industries, Yunnan has strengthened exchanges and mutual learning through the “International Friendly Cities+” model and the “Bring In” and “Go Out” initiatives, deepening the potential for cooperation in related fields with international friendly cities and organizations.

The relationship between the national and local levels is not a one-time deal, but requires continuous understanding and awareness. Therefore, creating a series of activities that organically integrate inspection, research, and exchange and promotion, such as the International Friendly City Cooperation Week, has reference significance for the innovative development of friendly city work," said Somsak Srisawat, Deputy Governor of Chiang Rai Province in Thailand. After participating in this year's Yunnan Province International Friendly City Cooperation Week, he has a clearer understanding of the opportunities for Chiang Rai and Yunnan, especially with Kunming, to promote mutual trust, cooperation, and sustainable development. "Like our Yunnan partners, Chiang Rai is fully prepared to open up new channels of cooperation and strengthen cross-border seamless interaction through ties such as the China-Laos-Thailand Railway and the Port of Khao Larn," he added.

"The International Friend City Cooperation Week, held simultaneously with the 9th South China Fair, has played a significant role in transforming friend city cooperation into substantial economic outcomes." Nguyen Van Thanh, Deputy Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Son Province, Vietnam, extended a cooperation initiative to relevant provinces and cities in various countries, including Yunnan, inviting them to share experiences in tourism industry development and support the promotion of tourism markets, engage in cooperation in the application of advanced cultivation techniques, agricultural automation, and value chain extension, and facilitate investment in processing manufacturing, electronic components, mineral extraction and deep processing, logistics, industrial parks, and other fields.

Looking to the future, cultivating friendly successors is key to the continuation of friendly city cooperation. "Last year, two outstanding young people from our province participated in the 2024 Yunnan International Friendly City Youth Exchange Week event, establishing profound friendship with young people from various countries. From the pictures and videos they took, I felt the unique charm of 'a life called Yunnan', and I also became more convinced of the importance of consolidating and deepening youth exchanges and cultivating new forces for friendly city cooperation," said Batkhishig Bat-Ordyn, Governor of Hoh Nuur Province in Mongolia.

"The International Youth Exchange Week has broken the single and scattered invitation methods, creating a model from traditional bilateral mechanisms to multilateral exchanges and research studies; the China International友好 City Conference has built a three-level linkage system of the National Committee of Foreign Friends, Yunnan Province, and Kunming City, strengthening the design of results with Yunnan elements, and completing the reception of 66 provincial and state-level, 125 city-level, and 63 local representative delegations from 41 countries according to the 'one group, one strategy'." Speaking of the enrichment of the friendly city cooperation platform, the relevant person in charge of the Yunnan Provincial People's Foreign Affairs Association said that youth exchanges are also the current direction of focus.