China Focus: China-U.S. sister cities foster friendship, understanding, future relations

HANGZHOU, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Michael McQuary, chair of the San Diego International Sister Cities Association, first set foot on Chinese soil in 1997. That summer, while visiting his son in Asia, he had read in the newspaper that Hong Kong was about to be returned to China, and he flew there to witness the historic event in person. The bustling crowds and joyful faces in the city had left a deep impression on him.

On trips to other cities in China, he noticed there were still few cars, yet some places were already building expressways -- a sign of the country's foresight and long-term planning.

That journey sparked McQuary's lasting interest in China and marked the beginning of a friendship that has endured for more than two decades. In late October this year, he visited China to attend the seventh China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Co-organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Zhejiang Provincial People's Government, the event was themed "Closer Partnership for a Sustainable Future" and brought together more than 180 representatives from 36 counties and cities across 28 U.S. states, as well as delegates from 26 Chinese provincial regions. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges on topics such as education, innovation and sustainable development.

CONNECTIONS THROUGH PEOPLE

"Over the past 40-plus years since the establishment of their diplomatic relations, China and the United States have paired 288 sister provinces, states and cities, providing a steady source of vitality for the development of bilateral relations," said Yang Wanming, CPAFFC president.

Heart-to-heart connections between people are the starting point of enduring friendship -- a spirit that has been reflected vividly in growing local cooperation.

Using "amazing," "capable" and "willing" to describe his impression of China, David Haubert, California's Alameda County supervisor, told Xinhua that he was on his 17th visit to China, and that he had already been to 25 cities.

Located in the Bay Area, Alameda is home to the University of California at Berkeley, as well as Tesla's automobile manufacturing base. Its City of Dublin has maintained friendly exchange with Jinhua in Zhejiang for nearly 20 years.

"I look forward to hosting more conferences in America, and I look forward to bringing more people from America to experience China," Haubert said.

"While the Pacific Ocean separates Oregon from China, our communities have been brought closer through decades of friendship, trust and cooperation at the subnational level," said Rob Wagner, president of the Oregon Senate.

In 1984, Oregon and east China's Fujian Province established one of the very first sister-province relationships between the United States and China.

"Oregon is proud to be a pioneer in subnational cooperation," Wagner said, adding that this partnership has served as a model for others across the nation, and that Oregon has continued to search for ways to connect with its friends in China.

This time around, Wagner led a delegation to nine Chinese cities over two weeks to strengthen these ties.

In Fujian, they took a ride on a bamboo raft to experience the natural beauty of the Wuyishan National Park, which has a sister-park relationship with Oregon's Crater Lake National Park. In north China's Tianjin, with which Oregon has had a sister-state-province relationship for 11 years, they watered the friendship tree marking their ties.

"It's been an honor to travel around and meet new friends and experience Chinese culture in so many different places," Wagner said.

"Above all, we remain committed to fostering understanding and friendship between our people," he noted.

BONDS BETWEEN CITIES

On the grand canvas of China-U.S. relations, local cooperation often paints the most vivid and tangible strokes.

"There's a lot of technology here that we don't see in the United States that we would benefit from." said Marc Elrich, executive of Montgomery County in Maryland. He was also impressed by China's quality of life, growth and business opportunities.

Elrich observed that the conference attracted participants from across the United States, not only from major states and cities but also from small towns and agricultural regions, reflecting a shared understanding of the importance of maintaining strong ties with China.

"We need each other. We trade with each other. We benefit from the relationship. The more Americans see the benefit and the opportunities that come out of it, the more people realize this is something we should be encouraging, not discouraging," Elrich said.

Judy Costello, director of Economic Development Special Projects at Montgomery's Office of the County Executive, said that the county had renewed its sister-city agreement with northwest China's Xi'an just last year.

Costello said that in Xi'an, the Montgomery delegation witnessed both the city's ancient heritage and its modern vitality, from the Terracotta Warriors to a major electric vehicle assembly line. Its members also met with entrepreneurs in multiple Chinese cities both this year and last year, looking to explore opportunities for future collaboration.

Elrich defined the two sides as friends, partners, and people who respect each other.

"I think there's a lot that we can do that would be beneficial for everybody," Elrich told Xinhua.

The China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference was established in 2014 by the CPAFFC and Sister Cities International (SCI). It has become an important mechanism for subnational exchange between China and the United States. Since its inception, the conference has been held in Washington, Chicago, Nanchang, Houston, Suzhou, Tacoma and Hangzhou.

Carol Lopez, chair emeritus of SCI, has been a long-time witness to the event's growth. To honor her wholehearted devotion to promoting the growth of the platform and sister-city exchanges between the two countries, the CPAFFC awarded her the honorary title of "Friendship Ambassador" at the conference.

Lopez, from Santa Fe in New Mexico, said that her hometown is a sister city to Zhangjiajie in central China's Hunan Province, where parts of "Avatar" were filmed.

She shared that one of the most successful forms of exchange between the two cities has been through sister schools. Children from both sides have learned about one another's cultures in creative ways, exchanging ghost stories and drawings during Halloween, and celebrating the Chinese New Year in Santa Fe by making dragons.

"We all want the same things. We all want good jobs, better lives. We all rise together." She said.

Eduardo Martinez, mayor of Richmond in California, described sister-city ties as "a catalyst" for mutual understanding and collaboration.

Speaking of potential cooperation between Richmond and its sister city of Zhoushan, which is an archipelago in Zhejiang, Martinez said he would love to see musicians from both places create a fusion band, allowing them to experience each other and improvise together.

"We got to learn the world together and trust each other," said Frank Jackson, former mayor of Prairie View in Texas, calling for a paradigm "where we can sensibly and reasonably work together."

Jackson expressed hope that sister-city partnerships would bring new opportunities to small towns, enabling them to grow, and in doing so, contribute to the United States' overall development.

BRIDGE TO FUTURE

From vision to practice, more and more conference participants are reflecting on how to make sister-city relations more enduring.

Haubert cited education as a good example: "China is very successful at sending students to America to learn. It's time for America to reciprocate and to send students to China, too."

He hailed China's initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs as "an amazing vision."

"The people of China want to have a strong relationship," Haubert said.

The construction of such a bridge requires the patience and perseverance of one generation after another.

Wagner said the sister-city relationship should be viewed from the perspective of generations. "We want to make sure that we're building the relationship over 10 years, 40 years, or beyond."

Turning this idea into action, Wagner held a lunch with the parents of Chinese NBA star Yang Hansen in Beijing, and exchanged jerseys from the Portland Trail Blazers and from his home team. He also invited Yang's parents to visit Portland next year to watch a basketball game.

Natalie Mihalek, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, embarked on her first trip to China with her husband and daughter to attend the conference.

Describing her impressions of the country, Mihalek said she had been struck by the scale and beauty of China, as well as the warmth of its people.

Mihalek, who is from Pittsburgh, a sister city to central China's Wuhan, noted that this partnership is not as robust as some other cities. "I think there's a missed opportunity there. And hopefully that's something that I can help make better."

"I think where the real progress can be made is more on the ground," she said, emphasizing the importance of subnational ties, saying that they play a key role -- especially in introducing the two nations to younger generations.

Mihalek noted that her daughter's experiences in China would allow her to share firsthand impressions of the country with her friends and classmates back home, helping to break down barriers and misconceptions that exist at the national level.

"I think there's a huge potential for this next generation to build bridges instead of walls," she said. ■