The China International Friendship Cities Conference honored Xiamen with an award for its exchange and cooperation with international friendship cities from 2014 to 2015.
At the same time, Xiamen's friendship city Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, was given an award for its friendly exchange and cooperation with Chinese cities.
Kong Suting, vice president of the Xiamen People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, was in Chongqing to receive the two awards on Nov 11.
The awards were issued by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China International Friendship Cities Association to honor great works done to forge and cement friendly ties with foreign cities.
Xiamen has established friendships with 18 international cities since securing the first one, Cardiff in the UK, in 1983. In the past three decades, Xiamen has grown into an international metropolis, benefiting tremendously from the exchange and cooperation with cities on different continents.
In recent years, it has deepened exchange and cooperation with its friendship cities, hosting culture and art events and sports activities to lift its global image.
Xiamen's efforts in maintaining friendly relationships with foreign cities in the last eight years have been recognized and honored by the two associations at each of the five sessions of the biennial conference since its inception in 2008.
Several of Xiamen's friendship cities - Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Marathon in Greece, Sasebo in Japan, and Wellington in New Zealand – have won awards for friendly exchange and cooperation with Chinese cities.
Xiamen was also the site for a series of international events, including the G20 Joint Sherpas and Finance Deputies Meeting in June. It left a good impression on the attendees with its top-notch business environment and international atmosphere.
Organizing these high-profile international events has inspired the southeastern port city to take on the task of hosting the BRICS Summit next September, as was announced by President Xi Jinping at the eighth BRICS Summit in Goa, India. Xiamen has pledged to pull out all the stops to ensure a great success for that event.
International guests pose for a group photo at the China International Friendship Cities Conference 2016 in Chongqing. [Photo by Tang Yi/Xinhua]
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