A Shanghai delegation flew to its friendship city Lima, capital of Peru, on Nov 30.

The delegation held talks on the newly opened Chancay Port, a flagship project of Belt and Road cooperation between China and Peru.

They also discussed topics such as maritime center developments and cross-border data flows with their Peruvian counterparts.

Shanghai has established partnerships with 72 friendship cities. This year, the city strengthened ties with its global counterparts to further its high-level opening-up.

During this year's China International Import Expo, a delegation from the friendship city of Cork in Ireland visited Shanghai. Ambassador of Ireland to China Nicholas O'Brien highlighted the similarities between Cork and Shanghai as port cities, noting the potential for sharing valuable experiences between the two.

This year, Shanghai commemorated significant friendship city milestones, including its 25th anniversary with Liverpool, 30th anniversary with Tashkent, 30th anniversary with Dunedin, 35th anniversary with Queensland, 45th anniversary with Rotterdam, and 50th anniversary with Osaka.

Meanwhile, Shanghai is strengthening its connections with friendship cities and friendly exchange cities, including Barcelona, Alexandria, New York, Santiago, and Dubai.

Memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements have been signed with several cities.

To facilitate exchanges, numerous overseas cities have set up exchange institutions in Shanghai, including 27 representative offices from Japan and nine from South Korea.

What's more, Shanghai and its friendship cities have forged strong bonds in various sectors such as commerce and trade, green shipping, culture, and elderly care.

In October, the Shanghai International Friendship City Chamber of Commerce Network was established.

The Shanghai, Nagasaki, and Busan Youth Go Friendship Tournament was held in Nagasaki this year. These three East Asian cities, which share friendship city status, have built a tripartite urban cooperation and exchange mechanism.

In May, following visits to San Francisco and New York, the Shanghai delegation reached a series of agreements with local governments and businesses.

Most notably, the US Energy Foundation aimed to build a long-term strategic partnership with Shanghai, while international financial group Goldman Sachs expressed willingness to invest in green projects in the city.

Shanghai plans to present a large swan art craft to San Francisco next year, commemorating the 45th anniversary of the friendship city relationship between the two cities.

Meanwhile, at a Shanghai-San Francisco Bay Area entrepreneur business lunch meeting, a message from a fortune cookie on the table was read out: "Sister Cities reunite in 2024. To all our friends from Shanghai, Welcome back to San Francisco!"

Source: Shanghai observer