Yunnan Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

On November 11, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries held a press conference on the "2024 China International Sister Cities Conference". Sun Xueqing, secretary-general of the CPAFFC, Wang Yu, full-time vice-president of the Yunnan CPAFFC, Wang Ya, member of the Standing Committee of the Kunming Municipal Party Committee and deputy mayor, and Zhang Zhenxing, deputy director of the General Office of the CPAFFC attended the press conference to introduce relevant situations and answer questions from reporters. Sun Liang, deputy director of the General Office of the CPAFFC and spokesperson, presided over the press conference.

From November 18th to 19th, the 2024 China International Sister Cities Conference will be held in Kunming, Yunnan Province. The theme of this conference is "Sharing, Win-win, and Creating a Future". It is co-sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the China International Friendship Cities Federation, and the Yunnan Provincial People's Government, and is hosted by the Kunming Municipal People's Government. About 700 people from more than 60 provinces, states and more than 120 cities in more than 40 countries at home and abroad, as well as representatives from more than 60 local government organizations or friendly organizations, will attend the meeting.

In addition to the opening ceremony and thematic forums, the conference will include four parallel forums: "Technological innovation helps build smart cities", "Urban green development benefits people's livelihood", "Guarding and inheriting the city's historical and cultural roots" and "Transportation interconnection builds a community of urban destiny". Plans were signed More than 20 Chinese and foreign sister cities have formed friendship and cooperation project agreements, and the "Kunming Initiative" has been issued calling on sister cities and local governments in various countries to further strengthen solidarity, mutual assistance, and deepen exchanges and cooperation. In order to further stimulate the enthusiasm of local governments at home and abroad to carry out international sister city exchanges, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China International Sister Cities Federation selected 20 Chinese provinces and cities that have outstanding performance in carrying out international sister city work and those that actively carry out exchanges and cooperation with Chinese sister cities. 40 foreign provinces, states and cities will respectively award the "International Sister City Outstanding Contribution Award" and the "China Friendship City Outstanding Partner Award" at the conference.

International sister cities are an important channel for promoting friendly exchanges between peoples of various countries, mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation, and cultural exchanges and mutual learning. They are of great significance to promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, promoting Chinese-style modernization, promoting mutual learning of Chinese and foreign civilizations and people-to-people bonds, and assisting the continuous development of people-to-people friendships. important meaning. Since the establishment of the first pair of Chinese and foreign sister cities in 1973, my country's 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and 541 cities have established 3,046 pairs of sister provinces, states and sister cities with 602 provinces, states and 1,867 cities in 147 countries, establishing a An international network of friends and partners spanning five continents.

In November 1981, Kunming City and Fujisawa City of Japan concluded the first pair of international sister cities in Yunnan Province, kicking off the work of Yunnan's international sister cities. Up to now, Yunnan Province has a total of 112 pairs of sister cities approved by the CPAFFC, including 77 pairs from countries co-building the Belt and Road Initiative, 55 pairs from South and Southeast Asian countries, 43 pairs from Indochina countries, and 32 pairs from the three surrounding countries. As an important complement to Yunnan Province's characteristic and international sister cities, 34 pairs of border friendly villages have been established between 6 villages in border prefectures and villages adjacent to the borders of Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. After years of hard work, the province's international sister city work has achieved fruitful results, and has won many honors such as the "International Sister City Special Contribution Award" and "International Sister City Exchange and Cooperation Award".

The China International Sister Cities Conference is the largest and highest-level institutional conference related to sister cities in China. It was co-founded in 2008 by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China International Sister Cities Federation. In principle, it is held every two years. The holding of this conference in Kunming reflects the full recognition of the work of Yunnan Province as an international sister city by the central government and the China Council for Friendship with Foreign Countries, as well as the trust, trust and ardent expectations for Yunnan. The Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, and the Kunming Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government attach great importance to the preparation of this conference, and have established a preparatory work mechanism and special teams to formulate activity plans, design conference results, refine the division of responsibilities, create a public opinion atmosphere, and implement conference affairs guarantees. A lot of work has gone into it, and all preparatory work is progressing smoothly. Yunnan Province will continue to strengthen provincial and municipal linkages, play its role as a host, seize the major opportunities of this conference, expand the "circle of friends" and build bridges of friendship for the world to understand Yunnan and China.