CPAFFC President Lin Songtian has a video conference with SCI Chair Carol Lopez

Liu Wei

O n Oct 18， Lin Songtian， president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， met in a videoconference with Carol Lopez， chair of Sister Cities International of the United States. They exchanged ideas on the two organizations’ plans to jointly hold the China-US Sister Cities Video Dialogue in November. CPAFFC Vice-President Jiang Jiang and Zhang Heqiang of the Chinese embassy in the US and president of SCI also participated in the video conference.

Lin thanked Lopez for her efforts to enhance China-US relations over the years， saying， “We are fully aware of and attach great importance to the role of sister cities in relations between different countries. Chinese provinces and cities have established sister-city relationships with more than 2，800 counterparts in other countries， among which 283 pairs are between China and the US. Friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between sister cities and provinces/ states have brought tangible benefits to both countries. Especially when bilateral relations encounter difficulties， sister cities are a stabilizer and booster of China-US relations.”

Lin noted that there have recently been positive signs in ChinaUS relations. Since the beginning of this year， presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden have had two phone conversations， with candid， in-depth and extensive strategic dialogues that have pointed the direction for developing China-US relations. As Xi pointed out， China and the US are， respectively， the world’s largest developing country and the largest developed country. Cooperation will benefit both countries and the world， while confrontation， on the contrary， will injure both sides and the world.

“Today’s videoconference is very timely，” Lin said. “It will help implement the important consensus reached by the heads of the two countries. China is ready to work with the US to actively promote exchanges and cooperation between sister cities and provinces/states and enhance the friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.

“During World War II， for the sake of world peace and justice， the US sent the Flying Tigers to China to fight side by side with the Chinese people against Japanese invaders. Today， for the sake of world peace and development， the Chinese and American people will surely work together for common development.”

Lin also shared the latest data on China-US economic and trade cooperation. He noted that from January to August this year， trade in goods between China and the US reached $407 billion， up 22.52 percent year-on-year. US exports to China totaled $94 billion， up 35.22 percent. Imports from China were $313 billion， up 19.16 percent.

Lopez said the SCI had always been committed to promoting ChinaUS exchanges and cooperation at the local and people-to-people level. At present， she said， mankind shares many global challenges. The American people hope to solve economic and social problems such as environmental pollution， educational imbalance and poverty. Despite differences in culture， beliefs and political systems， the two peoples can learn from each other and prosper together. She said SCI is willing to maintain communication with China and promote local exchanges and cooperation.

Cindy Elliott， a member of the SCI and vice-superintendent of Fort Hays State University， said the US and China have established good cooperative partnerships not only between cities but also between universities and other educational institutions.

“For example， Fort Hays State University， where I work， has carried out teacher exchange programs with Lanzhou University in Gansu province many times，” she said.

Elliott lauded the story of the Flying Tigers mentioned by Lin as “moving people to tears”. The American and Chinese people should relive the touching story of the Flying Tigers， Elliott said， and continue to enhance friendship between the two peoples in the new era.

Lin noted many similarities between the Chinese and American people. “Last year，” he said， “I visited some US companies in China and talked with their leaders. They all hoped that China-US relations would return to rationality and friendship. They wished to make the cake of bilateral cooperation bigger and benefit from it. In the past few months， I visited many provinces and cities in China， especially in the central and western regions， and I saw that once poor places — Gansu province， the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and other places — have got rid of poverty and are committed to highquality ecological development. We look forward to inviting chair Lopez and other American friends to come back to China once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.”

The two sides also exchanged views on holding a video dialogue between sister cities of both countries and other relevant issues.

Lin said， “We hope to build a platform for sister provinces/states and cities of China and the US through this dialogue. The participants will center on the theme “Promoting Win-Win Cooperation and Common Development Between Sister Cities of China and the US” and address such issues as climate change， green development， mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation and joint building of smart cities.”

Lopez said the theme and topics of the dialogue suggested by the Chinese side are also concerns of all sectors in the United States. The SCI， she said， will work with the CPAFFC to make careful preparations， design the video dialogue well and actively promote exchanges and cooperation between sister cities of both countries.