Telling the Beijing Story at the 4th US -China Sister Cities Mayor's Summit in Houston

On July 17, 2019, the 4th US -China Sister Cities Mayor's Summit convened in Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas. Speaking at the summit were Xie Yuan, vice president of Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Yin Chengwu, minister counselor from the Embassy of China in the U.S., Li Qiangmin, Chinese consul general in Houston, Robert W. Ogburn, director of Office of Citizen Exchanges, US Dept of State, Ron Nirenberg, chairman of Sister Cities International (SCI) and mayor of San Antonio, Texas and Charles Foster, chairman of U.S.-China Partnerships.

The summit was themed “40 Years Ahead: Stronger Friendship, Closer Cooperation” to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations. It included the following four sub-topics: “Innovation and Smart Cities,” “Maritime Silk Road and Impact,” “Metroplex Collaborations, and the Future for Economic Growth,” and “Sino-Foreign Educational Cooperation and Exchanges.” More than 200 representatives from local governments, enterprises and educational institutes attended the conference. They hailed from 16 provinces and  municipalities directly under the central government and 21 cities in China, and 11 states and 21 cities in the U.S. They engaged in a broad range of discussions on topics including the success of bilateral relations over the past 40 years, the close friendship between sister regions and how to energize sustainable development, exchanges and cooperation. Media outlets including the Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, People’s Daily Online and China Radio International Online all covered the event.

The Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (the BPAFFC), attended and addressed the summit by invitation on behalf of Beijing. It was the first time that Beijing attended the summit. The BPAFFC introduced Beijing’s “four centers” strategy, new urban master plan, the relocation of its non-capital functions to the suburbs, the building of city sub centers, the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as well as provided an update on the progress of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Data were provided to demonstrate Beijing’s significant scientific and technological resources, the opening-up of its service industry, improvement in its business environment and active environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. The summit also broadcast a promotional video “Beijing 2019” and displayed the winning works of the Beijing in The Eye of Foreign Friends Photo Contest. The winning photographs showcased American stories about Beijing and attracted the interest of people from around the world. 

During their visit, the delegation also took part in some other activities, such as an exchange with the Cooperation Committee of Houston and the SCI annual party. The BPAFFC and the American representatives had an in-depth discussion, hoping to open up more channels for exchanges and resources and seek greater cooperation. The BPAFFC also invited relevant specialists to attend the 2022 Beijing International Forum on People-to-people Friendship and the sub-forum “Intelligence + Health” of the 2019 ZGC Forum co-sponsored by the BPAFFC and the Beijing NGO Network for International Exchanges. During the summit, the BPAFFC held friendly talks with representatives from Houston, Baltimore, San Jose, San Antonio and Cincinnati, with an eye on promoting more non-governmental exchanges and cooperation.

Representatives from Beijing’s Dongcheng District and Haidian District provided a thorough introduction of their development advantages and characteristics and expressed their hopes for more exchanges with America. The BPAFFC also facilitated a discussion on friendship building and reciprocal exchanges regarding health, education and other areas of interest between Haidian District and San Jose, Baltimore and Hays.

US -China Sister Cities Mayor's Summit co-organized by the CPAFFC and SCI dates back to 2014 and has successfully been held three times so far. It is an essential system for two-way exchanges between local government in China and America, with a purpose to enhance China-U.S. sister cities development and pragmatic cooperation.