www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Reporter's Journal

Sistership ties between China and the US blooming

By Chen Weihua | China Daily USA | Updated: 2014-03-26 06:17
Share
Share - WeChat

The US-China Sister Cities Conference in Washington's Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center is unlikely to draw media fanfare. However, the passion for engaging in mutual exchanges and fostering strong bonds between US states and cities with Chinese provinces and cities will be evident.

One example is the 81 applications in both English and Chinese submitted by those sister cities and states for the 30 awards to be presented.

"So you know how strong their relationships are if they can actually sit down and write applications for these awards together," said Mary Kane, president and CEO of Sister Cities International, a Washington-based non-profit organization that joins hands with the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries in sponsoring the sister-cities conference this week.

The history of the sister-city tie between China and the US coincides with the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations. The first sister city was between Nanjing in east China's province and St Louis, Missouri, in 1979, the year China and the US formally set up official diplomatic ties.

Over the years, the two cities have developed ties to include sister schools, such as between St Louis University High School and Nanjing Foreign Language School, and between Parkway South High School and Jinling High School, and sister gardens between the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Zhongshan Botanical Garden in the ancient Chinese capital.

As a result, the two cities have won the much coveted longest-relationship award to be presented on Thursday evening.

The same award will also be presented to Shanghai and San Francisco, which established their sister-city tie in January 1980, about a year after then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein explored such a relationship.

So while Feinstein has risen to be a prominent US Senator and national politician, many people in Shanghai still remember her as the charming mayor of their sister city, San Francisco.

Probably no such sister city or state relationship has drawn as many headlines over the years as the one between north China's Hebei province and the Midwest state of Iowa, when current Chinese President Xi Jinping, then a vice-president, paid a return visit to Muscatine, Iowa, two years ago.

Suddenly, the small town along the Mississippi River became one of the best-known American places among 1.3 billion Chinese. It was because Xi first went there in 1985 as a county leader in Hebei on a mission to study corn agriculture as part of the sister-state exchange program between Hebei and Iowa. It was also Xi's first trip to the US.

That trip left Xi with a deep impression of the friendliness of American people, so the highlight of his return trip was to visit Sarah Lande, who was his host in 1985. Xi chatted with Sarah and her husband Roger as they recalled fond memories.

Both 75-year-old Lande and Muscatine Mayor DeWayne Hopkins are attending the meeting in Washington this week.

Besides awards for longest relationship, other awards, such as outstanding individual, youth exchange, arts and culture exchange, economic and trade exchange, most innovative, community involvement, sustainable development and best overall, will also be presented Thursday evening.

For example, Chongqing, a sister city with Seattle has conducted more than 300 exchange programs in the last 30 years, winning them the best overall prize.

The past 35 years have witnessed sistership relations between 41 pairs of US states and Chinese provinces and 199 pairs of US and Chinese cities, engaging in a variety of exchanges, from trade, science and technology to education and culture.

The conference this week has also been endorsed by a high-profiled honorary host committee which includes former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and more than 20 governors, mayors, senators and congressmen. It will be attended by business leaders, government officials and citizen diplomats from both China and the US.

While contentious political rhetoric often dominates in Washington when it comes to the US-China relationship, the grassroots conversation is often starkly different. That has been demonstrated by an increase of US governors and mayors making trips to and seeking ties with China.

On May 15, the political capitals of the two nations, Washington and Beijing, will mark the 30th anniversary of their sister-city tie.

The Friendship Archway, a huge colorful art work that includes seven roofs up to 60-feet high, 7,000 tiles and 272 painted dragons done in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties (from 1368 to 1911) and was dedicated in 1986 to the sister-city tie, is astride H Street in Washington's Chinatown as the most noticeable reminder.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 久久综合一区二区三区 | 亚洲高清免费 | 欧美成人三级大全 | 性做久久久久久久免费观看 | 国产成年人 | 窝窝午夜看片七次郎青草视频 | 一级成人毛片 | 中文字幕在线不卡 | 欧美国产三级 | 国产亚洲欧美成人久久片 | 国产婷婷成人久久av免费高清 | 青久草视频 | 中文字幕乱 | 香蕉网站狼人久久五月亭亭 | 999久久久 | 亚洲国产成人久久一区久久 | 久久综合99re久久爱 | 国厂自拍 | 欧美三级网 | 成人国产精品免费视频 | 久久久99视频| 波多野结衣福利视频 | 国产99网站 | 日韩欧美一区二区三区不卡视频 | 成 人免费视频l免费观看 | 国产特黄特色的大片观看免费视频 | 91精品国产薄丝高跟在线看 | 精品伊人久久久久7777人 | 国产精品路边足疗店按摩 | 日本免费久久 | 亚洲精品人成网在线播放影院 | 337p粉嫩日本亚洲大胆艺术照 | 国产在线观看免费视频软件 | 中文字幕福利 | 九九热视频在线播放 | 国产在线手机视频 | 久久精品国产精品亚洲人人 | 91精品国产免费网站 | 国产午夜在线观看视频播放 | 成人a免费视频播放 | 亚洲欧美成人综合在线 |