友好城市，又稱“姊妹城市”，是指一國的城市（或省州、郡縣）與另一國相對應(yīng)的城市（或省州、郡縣），以維護世界和平、增進彼此友誼、促進共同發(fā)展為目的，在簽署正式友城協(xié)議書后，雙方城市積極開展在政治、經(jīng)濟、科技、教育、文化、衛(wèi)生、體育、環(huán)境保護和青少年交流等各個領(lǐng)域的交流與合作。這種正式、綜合、長期的友好關(guān)系或制度被稱為友好城市關(guān)系。

“國之交在于民相親，民相親在于心相通！”1973年6月，天津市與日本神戶市結(jié)成了中國第一對國際友好城市，開創(chuàng)了地方城市對外結(jié)好的先河。此后，中國國際友好城市“朋友圈”越擴越大，為新時期“國家之交，民心相通”寫下了最生動的注解。

作為中國的人口大省、經(jīng)濟大省、資源大省和科教大省，四川的國際友城工作起步于20世紀(jì)80年代。40年砥礪奮進，40年攜手前行，四川的國際“朋友圈”從無到有，不斷壯大。

近年來，四川深挖國際友城資源，在高層互訪、經(jīng)貿(mào)合作、文化交流、青少年交往等諸多領(lǐng)域取得了顯著成效。

輝煌友城路，攜手共繁榮！

友城交往從蒙彼利埃起航

“為了發(fā)展中法兩國人民的友好關(guān)系，中華人民共和國成都市和法蘭西共和國蒙彼利埃市決定正式結(jié)為友好城市……”在成都市檔案館里，至今仍珍藏著一份特殊的文件——《中華人民共和國成都市、法蘭西共和國蒙彼利埃市締結(jié)友好城市協(xié)定書》（中法文版）。

這份見證成都對外開放歷史的協(xié)定書，簽訂于1981年6月22日。歷經(jīng)40年歲月洗禮，紙張已近泛黃，但成都與蒙彼利埃由此結(jié)下的友好城市關(guān)系卻歷久彌新。

回望40年前的那個火熱夏天，成都市時任市長米建書應(yīng)法國蒙彼利埃市時任市長喬治·弗雷什的邀請，率友好交流團赴蒙彼利埃市進行訪問。

訪問期間，兩市市長共同簽署下這份締結(jié)友好城市關(guān)系的議定書，約定兩座城市“進行經(jīng)濟、科學(xué)技術(shù)、文化藝術(shù)、教育、體育、衛(wèi)生、城市建設(shè)等方面的交流合作。不斷增進兩市人民的相互理解和友誼，為中法兩國友好事業(yè)發(fā)展作出新貢獻而努力”。

成都——一座地處中國西南腹地的城市，這里地勢平坦、物產(chǎn)豐富，素有“天府之國”的美譽;蒙彼利?！蛔拷刂泻５姆▏喜砍鞘?，那里光照充足、氣候宜人，被譽為“陽光之城”。

隨著友好城市協(xié)定書正式簽署生效，隔山隔海隔萬里的兩座城市成了中法間第一對友城，蒙彼利埃市也成了與成都結(jié)好的第一座國際友城。

40年，彈指一揮間。兩座秀美宜居的城市如同一對“姐妹花”，結(jié)伴同行，美好的情誼一直延續(xù)至今。

“我謹(jǐn)代表法國蒙彼利埃市和本市市民，對我們所心系的中國人民，送上堅定的支持，這是我們對友城成都最情真意切的祝福?！?020年，新冠肺炎疫情席卷全球，法國蒙彼利埃市時任市長菲利普·索雷爾心系友城，在其私人社交平臺上發(fā)表了對成都人民的祝福，續(xù)寫著成都與蒙彼利埃的友城佳話。

自1981年與蒙彼利埃結(jié)為友城起，成都就踏上了廣結(jié)友城之路 。如今，成都的國際“朋友圈”已遍布全球6大洲50余個國家和地區(qū)，從奧地利維也納、意大利米蘭、美國舊金山到巴西累西腓、阿根廷拉普拉塔、摩洛哥菲斯……

目前，成都已發(fā)展成為中國中西部對外交往的門戶樞紐，綜合實力居中國新一線城市前列，被美國獨立經(jīng)濟智庫米爾肯研究所（Milken Institute）評為中國最佳表現(xiàn)城市?！?020中國城市海外影響力分析報告》指出，成都是中國城市海外形象品牌塑造力和傳播力指標(biāo)排名第一的城市。

成都的友城交往，是四川友城交往的一個縮影！四川省外事辦公室有統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)顯示，截至2021年5月，四川省國際友城關(guān)系達112對，國際友好合作關(guān)系達280對，涵蓋省、市、縣三級。

近年來，四川省以產(chǎn)業(yè)優(yōu)勢互補、人文交流互鑒、務(wù)實合作共贏為目標(biāo)，積極構(gòu)建新型國際友城伙伴圈，開展了形式多樣、富有成效的交流合作，對于深化和拓展四川對外開放起到了積極的作用。

招商引資新渠道，進一步深化友城合作

2019年10月，蓉城丹桂飄香，賓客紛至沓來，以“開放合作·互利共贏”為主題的2019“一帶一路”四川國際友城合作與發(fā)展論壇在成都召開。

中國人民對外友好協(xié)會副會長謝元在論壇致辭中表示，國際友城活動不僅是中國地方政府對外交流合作的重要渠道，也已成為中國同有關(guān)國家雙邊關(guān)系的重要組成部分，極大促進了中國同各國的交流合作，增進了中國人民同世界各國人民的相互了解和友誼。

友城交往，為四川的國際交流合作帶來了更多的發(fā)展機遇！

在此次論壇上，四川和43個友城代表團攜手發(fā)布《國際友城合作與發(fā)展四川倡議》。與會各方認為，友城交往應(yīng)更加突出彼此特點，發(fā)揮比較優(yōu)勢，推動互補發(fā)展，在能源、科技、創(chuàng)新、農(nóng)業(yè)及食品、貿(mào)易、物流、醫(yī)藥等諸多領(lǐng)域，特別是在培育和打造新的經(jīng)濟增長點上，找到更多的合作耦合性和契合點，互通有無、取長補短、共享成果。

國際友城交往不僅有成于紙面的倡議，更有鮮活生動的實踐。

2018年，烏拉圭拉瓦耶哈省省長培尼亞率經(jīng)貿(mào)代表團一行10人訪問四川，與四川省貿(mào)促會共同舉辦了拉瓦耶哈省農(nóng)業(yè)投資機遇研討會。

烏拉圭是一個社會、經(jīng)濟基礎(chǔ)良好的國家，與中國已經(jīng)建交30年，雙邊貿(mào)易往來密切。2017年，四川省與拉瓦耶哈省簽署友好合作關(guān)系諒解備忘錄。根據(jù)備忘錄，雙方將積極推動兩省政府高層互訪，同時在經(jīng)濟、貿(mào)易、農(nóng)業(yè)、畜牧業(yè)、食品加工、教育以及其他共同感興趣的多個領(lǐng)域加強合作。

在雙方簽署諒解備忘錄后的一年，拉瓦耶哈省商貿(mào)代表團于2018年走進四川，實地考察了成都棒棒娃實業(yè)有限公司，詳細了解該公司在循環(huán)農(nóng)業(yè)、科學(xué)喂養(yǎng)、飼料加工、鮮肉及熟食加工、肉牛交易等方面的經(jīng)驗和做法。

拉瓦耶哈省省長培尼亞表示，“拉瓦耶哈省十分珍視與四川省建立的友好合作關(guān)系”。近年來，雙方人員交往逐漸密切，經(jīng)貿(mào)、教育、體育等領(lǐng)域交往不斷，進一步加深了兩地友誼。

此次培尼亞省長率包括政府官員、議會議員及企業(yè)代表在內(nèi)的代表團訪川，目的就是通過交流探討，以文化、教育等人文合作為起點，進一步深化雙方合作關(guān)系。

在深化友城合作方面，還有更多例子。如，成都中法生態(tài)園、中德（蒲江）中小企業(yè)合作園、成都新川創(chuàng)新科技園、中日（成都）地方發(fā)展合作示范區(qū)、中韓創(chuàng)新創(chuàng)業(yè)園、中意文化創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)業(yè)園……這些國別園區(qū)都借助友城關(guān)系和友好合作關(guān)系迎來發(fā)展機遇。

文旅推介新平臺，夯實人文交流基礎(chǔ)

四川自然資源、人文資源極為豐富，目前正大力推進文旅產(chǎn)業(yè)融合發(fā)展，積極拓展海外旅游客源市場。友城合作，為這一目標(biāo)的實現(xiàn)注入了“強心劑”。

為進一步加強四川國際友城工作，深化“后疫情”時代四川省對歐友好合作，2021四川—歐洲友城文化旅游推介會于4月29日在成都舉行。

希臘阿提卡省、比利時布魯塞爾大區(qū)、法國東部大區(qū)等歐洲友城的國際交流和文化旅游部門負責(zé)人參會，積極推介各自地區(qū)的文化旅游資源。

四川省外事辦副主任張業(yè)初表示，新冠肺炎疫情發(fā)生以來，四川與歐洲各國際友城同舟共濟、守望相助，緊密開展抗疫合作，書寫了動人篇章。舉辦此次活動，旨在以友城關(guān)系為依托，開展文旅宣傳推介，進一步加強川歐兩地在“后疫情”時代的友好互利合作。

此次推介會是疫情發(fā)生以來，四川省舉辦的第一場大型國際友城交流活動，得到了多個友城的積極響應(yīng)：

希臘阿提卡省省長帕圖里斯指出，四川省和阿提卡省均擁有悠久的歷史文化傳統(tǒng)，旅游合作前景無限;

比利時布魯塞爾首都大區(qū)副主席斯梅特對四川省給予的抗疫援助表示衷心感謝，他希望加快建設(shè)四川和布魯塞爾之間的貨運和客運航線，深化兩地的旅游往來，增進民眾相互了解;

德國巴伐利亞州駐中國首席代表曼麗表示，在疫情背景下，全球旅游業(yè)受到巨大沖擊，舉辦這場推介會無疑為川歐旅游業(yè)的回暖提振了信心……

追溯過往，四川以彩燈、大熊貓、川菜、三星堆、九寨溝等特色文化旅游資源為紐帶，在友城交往中取得了引人矚目的成績。

2020年4月，四川省以異地簽約的方式與日本和歌山縣簽署友好合作關(guān)系備忘錄。在此之前，和歌山白浜野生動物園自1994年起便與成都大熊貓繁育研究基地開展密切合作，成功繁育大熊貓10余只，創(chuàng)下了大熊貓國際合作繁育的最好成績。

2019年4月，伊比利亞半島，由四川“天姿國樂”女子民樂團帶來的中國民樂響徹西班牙古城托萊多。文化交流背后是，2018年7月四川與西班牙卡斯蒂亞拉曼查大區(qū)一系列促進經(jīng)濟、旅游交流等合作備忘錄的簽署。

2018年2月，川菜飄香、川味正濃！“中華川菜 世界品味”走進波蘭活動在四川友城波蘭羅茲省舉辦，羅茲省省長斯特皮恩、省議會議長馬澤爾、羅茲市副市長帕特沃斯基以及來自當(dāng)?shù)亟逃?、文化、商業(yè)等各界代表近百人出席活動。

2017年11月，來自四川自貢的彩燈點亮了法國蓋亞克市。首屆蓋亞克中國彩燈節(jié)在蓋亞克?？鹿珗@開幕，歷時52天的彩燈節(jié)吸引了來自法國各地的觀眾參觀，引發(fā)熱烈反響。

……

從經(jīng)貿(mào)合作到人文交流，友城合作充分發(fā)揮了地方在對外交往中的主動性和優(yōu)勢作用，豐富了國與國關(guān)系的層次和內(nèi)容，為增進中外友好交流作出了積極貢獻，也使四川對外開放行穩(wěn)致遠的圖景愈發(fā)生動。

友城合作結(jié)碩果，助推四川提升國際影響力

2013年金秋，習(xí)近平主席提出共建“一帶一路”倡議，得到了國際社會的廣泛認同和參與。截至目前，170余個國家和國際組織與中國簽署了200多份共建“一帶一路”合作文件，推動建立了90多個雙邊合作機制。

隨著“一帶一路”倡議走深走實，四川主動作為、積極融入，致力于從內(nèi)陸腹地走向開放前沿。8年間，已走出一條以友城交往為依托、產(chǎn)能合作為重點、物流建設(shè)為支撐、人文交流為助力的合作之路。

10月14日，四川省外事辦副主任張業(yè)初赴北京分別拜會阿根廷駐華大使牛望道和墨西哥駐華大使館公使維拉斯科，就進一步加強四川與阿根廷、墨西哥兩國在國際友城交往、經(jīng)貿(mào)、科技、農(nóng)業(yè)、文化和旅游等領(lǐng)域務(wù)實合作深入交換了意見。

牛望道感謝四川省對阿川友好交流合作給予的大力支持，表示阿根廷重視與四川的友誼合作，使館將一如既往與四川省外辦通力合作，拓展阿川合作潛力。

維拉斯科表示，四川是墨西哥地方合作交往的重要伙伴，2022年是墨中建交50周年，希望四川省積極參與慶祝建交系列活動，進一步拓展深化雙方在各領(lǐng)域友好交流與務(wù)實合作。

友城交往40年，四川的國際友城“朋友圈”不斷壯大，已先后與220多個國家和地區(qū)建立了經(jīng)貿(mào)關(guān)系;已獲批準(zhǔn)在川設(shè)立領(lǐng)事機構(gòu)的國家達21個，正式開館的領(lǐng)事機構(gòu)有15家，建立國際友城關(guān)系112對、友好合作關(guān)系280對，居中西部第一。

海內(nèi)存知己，天涯若比鄰。在2018中國國際友好城市大會上，四川榮獲國際友好城市交流合作獎。

四川成功舉辦了西博會、科博會等國際盛會，還將于2022年6月舉辦第31屆世界大學(xué)生夏季運動會……四川為世界矚目。至今，成都中歐班列開行8周年，成都國際班列境外城市拓展至61個，累計開行超過8000列;成都雙流國際機場和成都天府國際機場相繼投運，基本形成銜接歐美、東亞及南亞的航空物流網(wǎng)絡(luò)……

友城交往成為新時代背景下四川擴大對外交往的重要渠道，彰顯出四川國際影響力的提升！

40年風(fēng)雨兼程！在友城建設(shè)的道路上，四川用熱情與真摯，贏得了越來越多“外國朋友”的贊譽，也為四川的發(fā)展贏得了更多機遇，一個開拓進取的四川正闊步走向更廣闊的世界舞臺……

Friendship， which derives from close contact between the people， holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. In June 1973， Tianjin and Kobe， Japan， signed a sister city agreement. It was the first such agreement between a Chinese and foreign city. Since then， a growing number of Chinese cities and provinces have established similar ties with cities in other countries and regions， writing a vivid commentary on the aforementioned saying in the new era.

As a province with a large population， economic powerhouse， abundant resources and advanced science and education in China， Sichuan began to establish friendly ties with foreign cities in the 1980s. Over the past 40 years， Sichuan have forged ahead hand in hand with friendship cities and expanded its international “circle of friends”.

In recent years， Sichuan， by tapping the resources of its international friendship cities， has made remarkable achievements in high-level reciprocal visits， economic and trade cooperation， cultural communication， youth exchanges and other fields.

Sichuan has worked together with friendship cities for prosperity！

Exchanges with friendship cities started from Montpellier

“In order to develop the friendly relations between the Chinese and French people， Chengdu City of the People’s Republic of China and Montpellier City of the Republic of France have decided to officially establish sister cities...” In the Chengdu Archives， a special document is kept — The Sister Cities Agreement between Chengdu City of the People’s Republic of China and Montpellier City of the Republic of France （in Chinese and French）.

The agreement， which witnessed the opening of Chengdu to the outside world， was signed on June 22， 1981. Now， the paper is almost yellowing， but the friendship between Chengdu and Montpellier has been growing with time.

Back at that hot summer 40 years ago， Mi Jianshu， then Mayor of Chengdu， led a friendly exchange delegation to visit Montpellier at the invitation of Georges Frêche， then Mayor of Montpellier， France.

During the visit， the mayors of the two cities signed the agreement on establishing friendship cities， stipulating that the two cities will “conduct exchanges and cooperation in economy， science and technology， culture and art， education， sports， health， urban construction and other fields; continuously enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two cities and make new contributions to the development of China-France friendship”.

Chengdu， located in the hinterland of southwest China， is known as the “Land of Abundance” for its flat land and rich natural resources. Montpellier， located in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea， is called “The Sun-kissed City” for its abundant sunshine and mild climate.

With the signing of the agreement， the two cities， separated by mountains and oceans， became the first pair of sister cities between China and France， and Montpellier became the first international sister city with Chengdu.

Since then， 40 years have passed. The two beautiful and livable cities， like a pair of “sisters”， have worked together in friendship that has lasted to this day.

“On behalf of the Montpellier City and local people， I would like to express our strong support to the Chinese people whom we care about. This is our sincere blessing to our sister city Chengdu.” In 2020， when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world， Philippe Saurel， then Mayor of Montpellier， France， expressed his best wishes to the people of Chengdu on his personal social platform account， continuing the story of friendship between Chengdu and Montpellier.

Since 1981， when Chengdu and Montpellier became sister cities， Chengdu has set foot on the road of establishing similar ties with more cities. Now， Chengdu’s international “circle of friends” has covered cities from more than 50 countries and regions on six continents， including Vienna， Austria; Milan， Italy; San Francisco， the U.S.; Recife， Brazil; La Plata， Argentina; and Fez， Morocco.

Chengdu’s exchanges with friendship cities are those of Sichuan in miniature. As of May 2021， there were 112 pairs of international sister city relations and 280 pairs of international friendly cooperative relations in Sichuan at the provincial， city and county levels， according to statistics from the Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province.

In recent years， with the goal of complementing each other’s industrial advantages， learning from each other through cultural exchanges and practical win-win cooperation， Sichuan has actively fostered a new circle of international friendship cities and carried out fruitful exchanges and cooperation in various forms， which has played a positive role in deepening and expanding Sichuan’s opening-up to the outside world.

New channels for investment attraction have further deepened cooperation between friendship cities

In October 2019， the Belt and Road Forum for Cooperation and Development of Sichuan International Friendship Cities， themed “International Friendship Cities Gather in Sichuan for Win-win Cooperation”， was held in Chengdu， where the heady fragrance of laurel blossoms wafted through the fresh air.

Xie Yuan， Vice President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， said in his speech at the forum that international friendship city events are not only an important channel for Chinese local governments to exchange and cooperate with foreign countries， but also an important part of bilateral relations between China and relevant countries. They have greatly promoted exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries and enhanced mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and people from all over the world.

Exchanges with friendship cities have brought more development opportunities for Sichuan’s international exchanges and cooperation.

At the forum， Sichuan and delegations from 43 friendship cities jointly released the Sichuan Initiative on Cooperation and Development of International Friendship Cities. The participants agreed that exchanges between friendship cities should highlight each other’s characteristics， leverage comparative advantages， promote complementary development， find more potential for cooperation， supply each other’s needs， learn from each other’s strengths and share achievements in the areas of energy， science and technology， innovation， agriculture and food， trade， logistics and medicine， especially in fostering new economic growth points.

In addition to the initiative on paper， exchanges with international friendship cities have also carried out vivid practice.

In 2018， a 10-member economic and trade delegation led by Adriana Pe?a， Intendant of Lavalleja Department， Uruguay visited Sichuan and， together with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Sichuan Council， held a seminar on agricultural investment opportunities in Lavalleja Department.

Uruguay， a country with a sound social， economic and political foundation， has established diplomatic ties with China for 30 years and maintained close bilateral trade exchanges. In 2017， Sichuan Province and Lavalleja Department signed a memorandum on friendly cooperative relations. According to the memorandum， the two sides will actively promote high-level visits between the two provincial governments， while strengthening cooperation in economy， trade， agriculture， animal husbandry， food processing， education and other areas of common interest.

In 2018， one year after the signing of the memorandum， a trade delegation from Lavalleja Department went to Sichuan to visit Chengdu Bangbangwa Industry Co.， Ltd.， where they had a detailed understanding of the company’s experience and practices in circular agriculture， scientific feeding， feed processing， fresh meat and cooked food processing， beef cattle trading and other aspects.

There are more examples of deepening cooperation between friendship cities： Chengdu Sino-French Ecological Park， Sino-German （Pujiang） SMEs Cooperation Zone， Singapore-Sichuan Hi-tech Innovation Park， Sino-Japanese （Chengdu） Local Development Cooperation Demonstration Zone， Sino-Korean Innovation and Start-up Park， Sino-Italian Cultural Innovation Park...These international parks have all benefited from sister city relations and friendly cooperative relations.

New platforms for culture and tourism promotion have solidified the foundation of cultural exchange

In order to further strengthen Sichuan’s efforts in international friendship cities and deepen Sichuan’s friendly cooperation with Europe in the post-epidemic era， the Sichuan-Europe Friendship Cities Culture and Tourism Promotion Conference 2021 was held in Chengdu on April 29.

The conference was attended by officials in charge of international exchanges and culture and tourism authorities of the friendship cities from European countries， including Attica， Greece; the Brussels-Capital Region， Belgium; and Grand Est Region， France， who actively promoted their local culture and tourism resources.

Zhang Yechu， Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province， said that since the outbreak of COVID-19， Sichuan and its international friendship cities in Europe have worked closely together to help each other and have written a touching chapter in the fight against the pandemic. The event is aimed to rely on the relations between friendship cities， promote culture and tourism， and further strengthen friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between Sichuan and Europe in the post-pandemic era.

It was the first large international friendship cities exchange event held in Sichuan Province since the outbreak of the pandemic， and received positive response from many friendship cities.

Giorgos Patoulis， Regional Governor of Attica， Greece， made the remark that both Sichuan and Attica have long historical and cultural traditions， predicting limitless prospects of their cooperation on tourism.

Pascal Smet， Regional Vice-president of the Brussels-Capital Region， Belgium， expressed heartfelt thanks to Sichuan for its anti-epidemic assistance. He hoped to accelerate the construction of freight and passenger airlines between Sichuan and Brussels， deepen tourism exchanges between the two places and enhance mutual understanding among the people.

Lucie Merkle， Chief Representative of State of Bavaria – China Office， German， stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has given a great shock to the global tourism industry， but the promotion conference has undoubtedly boosted confidence in the recovery of the tourism industry in Sichuan and Europe.

By virtue of its characteristic culture and tourism resources， including colored lanterns， giant pandas， Sichuan cuisine， Sanxingdui Site， and Jiuzhaigou Valley， as a bond of friendship， Sichuan has made remarkable achievements in exchanges with friendship cities.

In April 2020， Sichuan Province remotely signed a memorandum of friendly cooperative relations with Wakayama Prefecture， Japan. Since 1994， the Adventure World in Shirahama， Wakayama Prefecture， Japan， has worked closely with Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. It has successfully bred more than 10 giant pandas， setting the best record in international cooperative breeding of giant pandas.

On the Iberian Peninsula in April 2019， the Chinese folk music played by the all-female Beauty & Melody Orchestra of Sichuan resounded in Toledo， Spain. In July 2018， Sichuan and Castilla-La Mancha Region， Spain signed a series of memorandums of cooperation on promoting economic and tourism exchanges.

In February 2018， Sichuan cuisine was in the spotlight again for its good smell and taste！ Sichuan Food Festival was held in Lodz Province， Poland， a sister province of Sichuan. The event was attended by Witold Stepien， Governor of Lodz Province， Marek Mazur， Chairperson of Lodz Regional Assembly， Krzysztof Piatkowski， Vice Mayor of Lodz City， and nearly 100 local representatives in education， culture and business.

In November 2017， colored lanterns from Zigong， Sichuan lit Gaillac， France！ The first Chinese Lantern Festival of Gaillac opened in Foucault Park， Gaillac. The Festival lasted for 52 days， attracting visitors from all over France and arousing warm public response.

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From economic and trade cooperation to cultural exchanges， cooperation with friendship cities has fully played an active role with advantages in foreign exchanges of the local government， enriched the content of relationship among different countries to a higher level， made a positive contribution to enhancing friendly exchanges between China and foreign countries， and also kept Sichuan on the way to more stable and far-reaching opening-up. The future development prospect seems more clear and vivid.

Fruitful cooperation between friendship cities has enhanced Sichuan’s international influence

In the autumn of 2013， President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative， which was widely recognized and participated in by international community. Up to now， more than 170 countries and international organizations have signed more than 200 Belt and Road cooperation documents with China， promoting the establishment of more than 90 bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

With the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative to the deep end， Sichuan has taken the initiative to actively integrate itself into the Initiative and is devoted to making its way from inland regions to the open frontier. Over the past 8 years， Sichuan has been on the way to cooperation relying on the exchanges with friendship cities， focusing on capacity cooperation and supported by logistics construction with aid of cultural exchanges.

On October 14， Zhang Yechu， Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province， went to Beijing for making a visit to Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja， Ambassador of Argentina to China and Eleazar Velasco Navarro， Minister at the Embassy of Mexico to China respectively. They made in-depth exchanges on further strengthening pragmatic cooperation between Sichuan and the two countries in the fields of exchanges with international friendship cities， economy and trade， science and technology， agriculture， culture， tourism and so on.

Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja thanked Sichuan Province for its strong support for friendly exchanges and cooperation between Sichuan and Argentina. He stated that Argentina attached importance to friendly cooperation with Sichuan. The Embassy and Foreign Affairs Office of Sichuan Province will pull together to tap into the potential of Sichuan-Argentina cooperation.

According to Velasco， Sichuan is an important partner of Mexico in terms of local cooperation and exchanges. The year of 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Mexico diplomatic relations. It is his hope that Sichuan Province will take active participation in a series of activities for celebrating the establishment of China-Mexico diplomatic relations， and further expand and deepen friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between the two parties in diverse fields.

Over the past 40 years of exchanges with friendship cities， Sichuan has kept expanding its “circle of friends”， and established economic and trade relations with more than 220 countries and regions successively. There are 21 countries that have been approved to set up consular organs in Sichuan， with 15 ones officially opened. A total of 112 pairs of international sister cities have been established， plus 280 pairs of friendly cooperative relations， which makes Chengdu rank first in the central and western regions.

A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near. Sichuan won the International Friendship Cities Exchange and Cooperation Award at 2018 China International Friendship Cities Conference.

Sichuan has succeeded in hosting the international events such as Western China International Fair and China （Mianyang） Science & Technology City International High-Tech Expo， and will also host the 31st World University Games in June 2022... At that time Sichuan will be the focus of world attention. So far， on the 8th anniversary of the operation of China-Europe Railway Express， the number of overseas cities to which international trains depart from Chengdu has increased to 61， with a total operating trains more than 8，000. Both Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport have been put into operation， basically forming an aviation logistics network linking Europe， America， East Asia and South Asia.

Exchanges with friendship cities have become the important channel for the expansion of Sichuan’s foreign exchanges in the context of the new era， highlighting the improvement of Sichuan’s international influence！

A 40-year journey with trials and hardships！ On the way to friendship cities construction， Sichuan has won the praises form more and more “foreign friends” with enthusiasm and sincerity， and also created more opportunities in its development. A pioneering Sichuan is making big strides toward a broader world stage...