The 4th U.S.-China Sister Cities Mayors’ Summit, co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Sister Cities International, was held in Houston, Texas on July 17, 2019. Ambassador Cui Tiankai sent a congratulatory message to the Summit. Minister Counselor Yin Chengwu led a delegation to the Summit and read the congratulatory message on behalf of Ambassador Cui at the opening ceremony.

Ambassador Cui Tiankai said in the message that the summit carries special significance as it is being held at several important historical junctures. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. Over the past forty years, China-U.S. relations have scored historic achievements despite some twists and turns, bringing huge benefits to the two peoples and contributing to world peace, prosperity and stability. Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald J. Trump had a successful meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Osaka Summit, during which they had an in-depth exchange of views on the fundamental issues concerning China-U.S. relations and set the direction for the relations in a period to come. The two sides have agreed to continue pursuing a China-U.S. relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability. History has proven that both China and the United States benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation. Cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation. This should be the underlying principle guiding future China-U.S. relations. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. sister cities cooperation. Sister-city relationship has become an important way to enhance people-to-people friendship and sub-national cooperation, and serves as a strong foundation for bilateral relations. China and the U.S. have had 277 pairs of sister provinces/states and sister cities, achieving win-win cooperation by sharing resources and complementing each other’s strengths. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. China pursues a people-centered development philosophy, and always strives to meet the people’s aspiration for a better life. Its development will bring more opportunities for other countries, including the U.S. It is hoped that the participants will be able to renew friendship, pool consensus and strengthen cooperation through the summit, so that they will, empowered by the historical experience and guided by the sense of responsibility, inject new impetus to the bilateral relationship and contribute to a brighter future for people of the two countries and the whole world.

The China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference is an important mechanism of sub-national exchanges. Three successive conferences were held in Washington DC, Chicago, and Nanchang of Jiangxi Province in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. With the theme of “40 Years Ahead: Stronger Friendship, Closer Cooperation”, this year’s summit drew over 200 participants from 40 Chinese and American cities. They had lively discussions on innovation and smart cities, maritime Silk Road, metroplex collaborations and educational exchanges, demonstrating sincere wishes for cooperation at the sub-national level. During the summit, Shanghai held the photo exhibition “Trans-Pacific Exchanges and Cooperation: Shanghai Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of China-U.S. Diplomatic Relations”.