The Qingdao International Friendship City Exchange Month, which was inaugurated on July 19, has gathered representatives from 19 friendship cities and institutions in 17 countries along Fushan Bay in Qingdao to discuss new ways of exchange and cooperation, and expand room for common development. In the launching ceremony, Qingdao and Somogy in Hungary signed an agreement on establishing friendship relations. To date, Qingdao has boasted 95 international friendship cities in 54 countries and regions, which span five continents. Meanwhile, the Global Mayors Dialogue-Qingdao was held, where the mayor of Qingdao had talks on cultural tourism with 8 foreign mayors and 2 mayors from Shandong Province.

Over the years, Qingdao alongside its friendship cities have worked hard for cooperation in industrial sectors, delivered a number of signature projects, and secured fruitful results. These efforts have not only boosted inter-city friendship, but also facilitated industrial complementarity and win-win development. Qingdao and its friendship cities have made increasingly solid progress in bilateral cooperation, contributing to the establishment of a number of investment and trade promotion institutions, the opening of passenger and cargo air routes and China-Europe freight trains, and the completion of industrial investment projects. Thanks to increasingly close bonds, widely launched subnational exchanges on cultural tourism, sports, and teenager affairs have promoted cultural integration, and mutual learning among civilizations, and helped deepen people-to-people ties. Through cooperation with its friendship cities, Qingdao has provided a vivid example for exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations, and incorporated its status as China’s sailing city, marine culture and beer culture into international exchanges.  (Liu Ping)

Cultural ties between Qingdao and its friendship cities are deepening, as evidenced by the SCO Member States Art Festival staged in the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center.  By Wang Lei