Shanghai holds 2023 international friendship cities cooperation forum

SHANGHAI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Themed "Deepening Friendship Cities Cooperation and Promoting High-Quality Development," the 2023 Shanghai International Friendship Cities Cooperation Forum was held in Shanghai on Friday.

Representatives of 13 of Shanghai's friendship cities, provinces or states attended the forum.

The event included two sessions -- one centered on smart city development and deepening cooperation between friendship cities, and another on economic and trade cooperation and the high-quality development of friendship cities.

Shanghai established a sister city relationship with Dunedin in New Zealand about three decades ago. "We are here to create opportunities together, do business together and succeed together," Jules Radich, mayor of Dunedin, said during the event, noting that the sister-city relationship is full of potential. "The efforts we made today will bring great benefits for tomorrow."

Wajenda Chambeshi, director of international relations, policy and protocol of Los Angeles in the United States, announced during the event that Los Angeles has reached a cooperation agreement with Shanghai to build a green shipping corridor, with the common goal of achieving the decarbonization of shipping by 2030.

"Los Angeles and Shanghai are both important international shipping centers. By creating a partnership with Shanghai, Los Angeles is very committed to using smart technology to solve common problems such as climate change," he said.

The forum was co-hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai municipal government and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.