On March 13, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and the Sister Cities International (SCI) held a reception commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations and sister cities cooperation. The reception was attended and addressed by Xu Xueyuan, Minister of the Chinese Embassy; Ron Nirenberg, Chair of the SCI and Mayor of San Antonio; Carol Lopez, Vice Chair of the SCI and Chair of the 4th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference; Tim Quigley, Chair of Sister Cities Foundation; and Roger-Mark DeSouza, President and CEO of the SCI. Over 100 guests, including elected officials as well as representatives of sister cities committees, think tanks and business communities across the U.S., attended the reception.

Minister Xu said, over the past forty years, China-U.S. relations have scored historic achievements despite some twists and turns, bringing great benefits to the two peoples and contributing to world peace, prosperity and stability. China, the U.S. and the international situation have all experienced huge changes over the past 40 years, but the fact that their common interests far outweigh differences remains unchanged. People’s eagerness to know more about each other and have greater interactions remains unchanged. The international expectations for China-U.S. peaceful coexistence and joint contribution to global growth and regional stability also remain unchanged. Cooperation is still the best option for the two sides. Looking into the future, the two countries need to reaffirm commitments to the bilateral relations and make a fresh start from the past forty years of achievements. They need to manage differences on the basis of mutual respect, expand cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit, and jointly advance China-U.S. relations based on coordination, cooperation and stability, to the greater benefits of the people of our two countries and the world as a whole.

Minister Xu said, sister cities relationship is a major channel for people-to-people exchanges and sub-national cooperation, and an important driving force for bilateral relations. Sister cities cooperation between China and the U.S. has almost developed in tandem with the overall bilateral ties. Over the past four decades, the number of sister provinces/states and sister cities between China and the U.S. has grown into 277 pairs. Following the principles of friendship, mutual benefit and practical results, the two sides have made great achievements in their trade and economic cooperation as well as people-to-people ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s connection with Iowa is a most touching story of sister province/state and city cooperation and people-to-people friendship. With sister cities relationship, cities are no longer indifferent dots on the map, but wonderlands for friendship and cooperation. Looking into the future, sister cities enjoy promising prospects in energy, agricultural and infrastructure cooperation. They can learn from each other in urbanization and urban governance, and continue to deepen mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples, so as to score even greater development in China-U.S. relationship.

After giving the speech, Minister Xu accepted a certificate of celebration from the SCI to the Embassy in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations and sister cities cooperation.

Mr. Ron Nirenberg expressed congratulations on the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations in his speech. He said, the mission of international sister cities cooperation is to open up bridges for communication among different peoples, and lessen their differences and misunderstandings on political issues. Thanks to consistent efforts, the U.S. and China have become the most vibrant models in sister cities cooperation, and scored remarkable achievements in trade and economic, educational and cultural cooperation. It is believed that U.S.-China sister cities relations will grow even stronger in the future and continue to be a driving force for the development of bilateral relations.

The other U.S. guests said, sister cities cooperation has brought together a great number of Chinese and American cities for better understanding in the past four decades, and built strong people-to-people friendship. People-to-people ties are fundamental to the overall bilateral relations. The U.S.-China relationship has strong public support and the two countries can seek common ground while reserving differences, and join hands to promote exchanges and cooperation in economy and trade, culture, innovation and other areas.

The reception was lively and friendly. Guests also watched the photo exhibition marking the 40th China-U.S. diplomatic ties.