CPAFFC Vice-President Jiang Jiang delivers a video speech for the exchange activity between Heilongjiang province and its international friendship cities

Sun Liang

O n Jan 20， an exchange activity between Heilongjiang province and its international friendship cities was held in Harbin， online and offline simultaneously. The theme of the activity was “Holding hands with friendship cities and meeting at the Winter Olympics”.

Jiang Jiang， vice-president of the CPAFFC， delivered a video speech and offered congratulations for the activity’s success. He noted that the Beijing Winter Olympics would open in half a month and that it was China’s solemn commitment to the international community to ensure the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

“Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China， the Chinese government and people will go all out to welcome guests and athletes from all over the world with enthusiasm， safety and professional services，” he said.

He expressed confidence that China has the ability to deliver a “splendid， extraordinary and outstanding” Olympic Games to the world， to build a fair stage for ice and snow athletes from all over the world to compete and show their excellence and to let the Olympic motto， “Faster， Higher， Stronger — Together”， shine brightly in Beijing， the “city of dual Olympics”. With concrete action， China will demonstrate its sincerity and determination to join hands with other countries to move “together for a shared future”， Jiang said.

Speaking of friendship cities， Jiang said they play an irreplaceable role in developing state-to-state relations and promoting friendly exchanges and cooperation. One of the important responsibilities of the CPAFFC， he said， is to be a bridge for urban diplomacy， guiding， coordinating and serving local governments in developing friendship-city relations with those of foreign countries.

So far， China has established 2，860 pairs of friendship cities （provinces/states） with 139 countries， including nearly 100 pairs that Heilongjiang province has established in more than 30 countries. Jiang said the CPAFFC is glad to see and ready to help more provinces， prefectures and municipalities in China and the rest of the world strengthen their ties and make greater contributions to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship among countries， deepening local exchanges and practical cooperation and consolidating public support for China-foreign friendship.

The activity was hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of Heilongjiang’s provincial government， coorganized by the province’s Culture and Tourism Department and Sports Bureau， and operated by the Heilingjiang People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. It aimed to give full play to the province’s advantages in foreign affairs， use the resources of friendship cities， serve the Beijing Winter Olympics and promote local development.

More than 200 participants attended the activity online and offline， including heads of relevant units， overseas directors of the Heilongjiang People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， delegates of foreign institutions in Harbin， representatives of Heilongjiang’s international friendship cities， people-to-people friendship organizations and friendly individuals from 25 countries， including Russia， Japan and the Republic of Korea.