The signing ceremony of the agreement on the establishment of sister city relationship between the City and County of Honolulu, the United States of America and the City of Fuzhou, the People’s Republic of China takes place on Oct 21. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Fuzhou in China and Honolulu in the United States officially established sister-city relationship at an online signing ceremony on October 21.

Wu Xiande, Mayor of Fuzhou Municipal People's Government, and Rick Blangiardi, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, took part in the online ceremony and signed the sister city relationship agreement.

A memorandum of understanding for friendly exchanges and cooperation between the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, City and County of Honolulu and the Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government was signed. A memorandum of understanding for friendly relationship between Iolani School and Fuzhou No.3 High School was also signed.

Wu noted that Fuzhou and Honolulu have made considerable progress in economic, cultural, education, and health fields, adding that they are expecting to expand cooperation under this new relationship.

Blangiardi said that this was the first international sister city agreement he has signed since he took office. He added that he is hoping for wider and deeper cooperation between the two cities in the future.

Zhang Ping, Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles, also attended the online ceremony and read the congratulation letter sent from Qin Gang, China's ambassador to the United States.

In the congratulation letter, Qin said that 282 pairs of sister-city relationships have been established between China and the US over that past 40-plus years. The signing of the sister-city relationship agreement between Fuzhou and Honolulu will open a new chapter in which the two cities will surely enjoy more mutually beneficial results.

Zhang said that Honolulu and China have a solid foundation for exchanges. Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of China's democratic revolution, studied and lived in Honolulu in his early years. Zhang added that he believed the establishment of the sister city relationship between the two cities will provide a greater platform for more in-depth exchanges and cooperation.

Since the signing of the intent for friendship agreement in 2019, the two cities have frequently had high-level exchanges.

The mayors of the two cities exchanged congratulatory letters right after the other took office and expressed their willingness to deepen the friendly relations between the two cities.

During the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, the Honolulu and Fuzhou governments donated supplies and expressed condolences to each other. In June, Honolulu participated in the Fuzhou International Sister Cities Cultural Festival. In July, the Fujian branch of the Hawaii Fujian General Chamber of Commerce and Rongtan (Fujian) Trade Co settled in Fuzhou.