CPAFFC Vice-President Yan Dong marks 30th anniversary of friendship-city relations between Guiyang and Palmerston North

Jin Hanghang

O n Aug 17， a commemoration meeting was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of friendship-city relations between Guiyang， China and Palmerston North， New Zealand. Yan Dong， vice-president of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， delivered a video speech.

Ma Ningyu， mayor of Guiyang； Grant Smith， mayor of Palmerston North； Wang Xiaolong， Chinese ambassador to New Zealand； Clare Fearnley， New Zealand ambassador to China； and representatives from economic and trade， education， culture， agriculture and other relevant departments and enterprises of the two cities， totaling nearly 100 people， attended the meeting on site or online.

Yan Dong congratulated Guiyang and Palmerston North on the 30th anniversary of their friendship-city relations and fruitful cooperation. He noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and New Zealand， which have mutual needs and complementary strengths for cooperation and development and enjoy broad prospects. Friendship cities play an irreplaceable role in developing bilateral relations and promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation. They are also important carriers of deepening friendship and mutual trust between our peoples and promoting common prosperity and development.

The CPAFFC will continue to build bridges， provide platforms and create opportunities for local governments in the two countries to deepen mutually beneficial c o o p e r a t i o n ， m a k e g r e a t e r contributions to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship and consolidating public support for ChinaNew Zealand friendship.

Ma Ningyu said that over the past 30 years， with the support of the governments of China and New Zealand， and under the guidance of the embassies of the two countries and the CPAFFC， Guiyang and Palmerston North have had frequent exchanges and harvested fruitful results. In the future， Guiyang will work with Palmerston North to push cooperation in trade， animal husbandry， culture， education and tourism to a higher， wider and deeper level， to better benefit the people of the two cities and make new contributions to the development of the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership.

Grant Smith said， “People-topeople and cultural exchanges have helped us understand each other and enjoy close ties. Since establishing friendship-city relations， our two sides have carried out practical cooperation in areas of government visits， personnel exchanges， trade and investment， educational exchanges， agricultural science and technology， digital economy and culture and art. We have achieved fruitful results. These cannot be achieved without mutual respect and goodwill between our two peoples. I look forward to further deepening friendship and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the future.”

Wang Xiaolong noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. Fifty years of joint efforts have laid a solid foundation for bilateral relations.

“As long as our two sides adhere to the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries and keep enriching the comprehensive strategic partnership in the spirit of mutual respect， mutual understanding， mutual benefit and seeking common ground while shelving differences， we will surely enjoy a brighter and broader future，” Wang said. “It will not only bring greater benefits to our two countries and peoples but also make greater contributions to international and regional peace， stability and prosperity.”

Clare Fearnley noted that the friendship-city relationship between Guiyang and Palmerston North is conducive to enhancing mutual understanding between the two sides and making positive contributions to the building of the New ZealandChina partnership. The embassy will continue paying attention to and support friendship-city relations between the two cities and actively support people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in various fields， Fearnley said.

During the commemoration activity， leaders of the two cities signed the Reaffirmation of the Sister City Agreement Between Palmerston North， New Zealand， and Guiyang， Peoples Republic of China.