On May 27, 2025, "2025 Shandong International Friendship Cities Cooperation and Exchange Week" officially kicked off in Jinan. The event is hosted by the People's Government of Shandong Province under the guidance of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). Lin Wu, Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee; Zhou Naixiang, Governor of Shandong; Tupouto'a Ulukalala, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense of the Kingdom of Tonga; H.E. Korn Dabbaransi, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and President of the Thai-Chinese Friendship Association; Alexander Subbotin, Chairman of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee, Belarus; Hussam A.G.Al Husseini, Ambassador of Jordan to China; as well as other representatives from over 120 provinces, states, and cities across 47 countries. Officials from national ministries and commissions, including the International Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—alongside delegates from international organizations, enterprises, and business associations, also participated in the event. Vice President Yuan Mindao of the CPAFFC attended and addressed the opening ceremony.
In his speech, Vice President Yuan Mindao quoted President Xi Jinping's remarks that "the vitality of developing bilateral relations comes from exchanges at subnational levels." Bringing out the vitality of subnational entities, especially through friendship city exchanges, serves not only the practical needs of the people, but also the strategic goal of advancing bilateral ties. In today's world, openness and cooperation remain the prevailing trend, while mutual benefit and win-win outcomes reflect the collective will of the global community. Under the new circumstances, deeper economic and trade cooperation between friendship cities is needed to forge a new paradigm of open development; greater cultural exchange to strengthen mutual understanding and people-to-people connectivity; and expanded collaboration in public welfare and livelihood areas to enhance the quality of life for all.
Vice President Yuan also noted that, Shandong has built an extensive and well-integrated network of international friendship cities, playing a key role in fostering a new frontier for high-level openness. The CPAFFC will continue to work closely with provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country to further elevate the quality of international friendship city cooperation, making new and greater contributions to enhancing people-to-people connectivity and advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
The "2025 Shandong International Friendship Cities Cooperation and Exchange Week", themed "Hand in Hand for Shared Future", will span one week and feature more than 20 activities. These include bilateral and multilateral meetings, governors' dialogue, business matchmaking events, and economic and trade cooperation programs throughout Shandong Province.
