At the invitation of Wellington Mayor Justin Lester, the Xiamen mayor visited the Wellington municipal government for talks. The two mayors agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in sectors such as education, healthcare, culture, art, trade, tourism, urban construction, industrial development, and environmental protection to usher in a new era for the sister city relationship.
Zhuang also attended a photography exhibition highlighting the development achievements of those ties. He also met with persons in charge of the City Council of Wellington, and representatives of the Xiamen people's association for friendship with foreign countries in Wellington, the University of Victoria, and the Confucius Institute.
The Xiamen mayor also held talks with officials of the municipal government of Auckland, a famously livable city in New Zealand, and visited the city's urban renovation projects. Zhuang expressed his willingness to learn from Auckland's experiences in city planning and improving people's livelihoods.
China has decided to extend its visa waiver policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom starting from Feb 17.
Forty-one new port-of-entry duty-free shops have been established nationwide, with Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, Xiamen Wutong Passenger Wharf, and Xiamen International Cruise Center included on the list.
