On November 19, 2024, the China International Friendship Cities Conference 2024 concluded in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province. At the closing ceremony, the conference presented the International Friendship City Award for Outstanding Contribution to 20 Chinese provinces and cities, and the Friendship City Award for Outstanding Partnership with China to 40 foreign provinces, states and municipalities. Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the China International Friendship Cities Association (CIFCA); Liu Hongjian, Member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Yunnan Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Kunming Municipal Committee; Wang Hao, Vice Governor of Yunnan Province; and Yan Dong, Vice President of the CPAFFC, attended the event and presented awards to the representatives of the winning local governments. Wang Jinfu, Vice Governor of Fujian Province; Vu Van Cai, Standing Vice Chairman of the Lao Cai Provincial People's Council, Vietnam; Yakup Paydulla, Mayor of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; and Artyom Molchanov, Mayor of Yaroslavl, Russia, delivered speeches as representatives of the award-winning provinces and cities.
Following the award ceremony, a signing ceremony was held, during which 32 Chinese and foreign local governments, institutions, and enterprises signed 15 cooperation agreements in the fields of sister-city relationships, personnel training, think tank exchanges, economic and trade cooperation, and connectivity. Ten cities in China and Laos signed a memorandum of cooperation of the China-Laos Railway city alliance. At this conference, eight agreements for establishing sister city (province/state) relationships between China and foreign cities were signed. China now has 3,054 sister city (province and state) relationships with 147 countries worldwide.
The conference also issued the Kunming Initiative, representing an important consensus reached by all parties participating in the meeting in line with the trend of the times, i.e. peace, development, and mutually beneficial cooperation. The Initiative called on sister cities worldwide to strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance, deepen exchanges and cooperation, and build a better future together. CPAFFC Vice President Yan Dong delivered closing remarks.
The Chinese provinces and cities that received the International Friendship City Award for Outstanding Contribution are: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Hohhot, Shenyang, Harbin, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Nanchang, Wuhan, Urumqi, Chengdu, and Kunming.
The foreign provinces, states and cities that have won the Friendship City Award for Outstanding Partnership with China are: New South Wales in Australia, Minsk in Belarus, Biobío Region in Chile, Bavaria and Lower Saxony, Germany, West Java Province in Indonesia, Miyagi Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture, Japan, North Kazakhstan Oblast in Kazakhstan, Gyeonggi Province, Gyeongsangbuk Province, and Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, Republic of Korea (ROK), Issyk-Kul Oblast in Kyrgyzstan, Vientiane City and Namtha Province, Laos, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Prachuap Province in Thailand, Iowa and Oregon, the United States, Samarkand in Uzbekistan, Hanoi City and Lao Cai Province in Vietnam, Duisburg and Neustadt, Germany, Asti in Italy, Kagoshima, Kobe, Nara, and Osaka, Japan, Yeongcheon in the ROK, Tokha in Nepal, Christchurch in New Zealand, Stavanger in Norway, Hunza in Pakistan, Yaroslavl in Russia, Sarah Baartman District Municipality in South Africa, Barcelona in Spain, Long Beach and St. Louis, USA, and Mong Cai, Vietnam.
