Sister cities cooperation stressed at forum
Mayors of 12 sister cities attended the 2020 Shanghai Sister Cities Cooperation Forum online, November 10.
The 2020 Shanghai Sister Cities Cooperation Forum was held yesterday evening as a sideline event of the China International Import Expo.
Mayors of 12 sister cities from Asia, Europe and America attended the forum online and exchanged ideas on urban governance and cooperation among cities in the context of a pandemic.
Key topics included how cities can help improve a joint global response to public health emergencies through cooperation as well as promoting joint development and progress.
Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, said that COVID-19 has brought uncertainties to the world economy and challenges to the city management systems, which should be coped with openness, cooperation, solidarity and unity by all cities in the world. Shanghai has established friendships with a total of 91 sister cities from 59 countries so far.
Mayor representatives shared experience in fighting against the pandemic and expressed gratitude for the support received from Shanghai, adding that the forum is a great opportunity to enhance cooperation in face of challenges.
The topic of this year's forum focuses on urban governance and cooperation among cities in the context of a pandemic.
Joel Martinez, mayor of Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago, and Kata Tutto, vice mayor of Budapest, capital of Hungary, shared their perspectives with respect to the theme during previous interview sessions.
Rich in natural gas and oil, Port of Spain is a key port city and commercial and financial center in the Caribbean, as well as headquarter of many international organizations including the Association of Caribbean States.
The city celebrates the famed Trinidad Carnival every year, one of the most vibrant festivals in the Caribbean.
The city has established a warm relationship with Shanghai in recent years in terms of economy, culture and health and is expected to become a sister city in the near future.
Shanghai Construction Group, for example, has been contributing in key projects in Port of Spain in the past 10 years, including two China Town landmarks built last year to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Sino-Trinidad diplomatic relations.
Port of Spain donated 10,000 face masks in February and Shanghai reciprocated with a batch of medical supplies in March.
Martinez, who has visited Shanghai twice, said he was impressed by the city’s development and will continue to promote cooperation with regard to the One Belt and Road and cultural communication between the two cities. Trinidad and Tobago was one of the first countries in the Caribbean to join the One Belt and Road initiative.
“That gesture between two countries was a mark of the relationship and communication to help both cities deal with the situation,” said Martinez.
Since the first confirmed case in March, Trinidad and Tobago locked down the country in May and September to contain the spread of the virus, including a resurgence after the reopening of the economy in July, along with health measures and social distancing.
In a post-pandemic era, the mayor said the two cities should deepen interaction, make joint efforts to ensure that society is not overrun by the virus and that people should feel safe and comfortable, and be taught to be responsible.
“We should encourage collaboration between the two cities and other cities in the world. The relationship will be better known by people if we are offered the opportunities to share what we have,” said Martinez.
Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, attends the Sister Cities Cooperation Forum.
Budapest, the political, industrial, and commercial center of Hungary, is home to around a fifth of the country’s population and is a key port city in Europe.
Often referred to as the “pearl of the Danube,” the city is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world famous for its landscapes and Art Nouveau architecture.
As one of the sister cities of Shanghai since 2013, the two cities have developed communications in multiple fields including trade, culture, infrastructure and education.
In 2019, the eighth “Sail of Shanghai: Shanghai Fair” was successfully held in Budapest. The city is also part of the One Belt and Road sister city cultural and tourism network set up by the Shanghai government.
During the pandemic, both cities reached out to support each other, including with online seminars and medical supplies.
Tutto, who became vice mayor last November, expressed gratitude for the assistance from Shanghai.
“In the first wave of the pandemic when we had a face mask crisis, Shanghai showed big support towards Budapest by donating 100,000 masks. We are really thankful for the solidarity in hard times,” said Tutto.
As for the current bilateral relations between the two cities, she said she was proud of cultural exchanges such as the Escape to Shanghai exhibition and cooperation between their young people.
She said one of the main fields of cooperation between cities is to create new public spaces to connect citizens.
“Now we have to rethink about public spaces in terms of safety. A sustainable city means fewer cars and more public transport, but with the current crisis, people don't want to use public transport. We want to have more public spaces to connect citizens,” she said.
She said the pandemic had highlighted many social problems such as inequalities in home schooling and living conditions and mental health of the elderly in lockdown.
To better cooperate in a post-COVID era, she said the application of online tools should be promoted, so in this way the world is much closer now than it was before.
“The pandemic in one way has a negative impact but on the other hand it also highlighted a very strong need for global network interconnections,” she said.
