US—China Sister Cities Conference Celebrates 35 Years

o commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Sino-American sister-city program， and deepen pragmatic cooperation between the two countries， the CPAFFC and Sister Cities International （SCI） co-hosted the 2014 “U.S.-China Sister Cities Conference” in Washington DC on March 26 and 27. Over 300 local government leaders and representatives from different sectors discussed how to strengthen cooperation in planning effective exchange programs， energy and sustainable development， community engagement， business investment and commercial services.

The conference was the first of its kind for the U.S.-China sister-city program to celebrate its establishment and review progress. President Obama sent a letter of congratulations to the conference.

CPAFFC Vice President Xie Yuan， SCI President Mary Kane and People to People International President Mary Eisenhower delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. They reviewed the program’s history and hoped that more practical cooperation and friendly exchanges would be conducted to further promote bilateral relations.

To recognize the prominent contributions made to sister-city exchanges， 34 pairs of sister provinces/states and sister cities， and four individuals， received awards for their excellent performance covering nine separate fields： long-term cooperation， individual contribution， youth exchanges， cultural exchanges， economic and trade exchanges， innovation， community engagement， sustainable development and comprehensive projects.