Bilateral Cooperation: China Seeks Twinning Opportunities With Councils

Municipalities in Nanjing Province say such relations promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

China, a country of more than 1.3 billion people, has over the years boosted its ties with Africa in the areas of business, political and cultural interaction. In this light, Jiangsu Province in the south-east of the country wants to improve its relations with Cameroon and Africa in general. Receiving a group of 27 African journalists in the capital, Nanjing, on March 23, 2017, Fan Zhi Gang, a senior official with the provincial government, said Jiangsu currently maintains sister city relations with 70 towns in 10 nations.

The countries include Tanzania, Ethiopia and Algeria. So far, there is no partner city or town in Cameroon. Jiangsu Province also sends medical teams to Africa, who for now, are in Mauritius and Zanzibar (Tanzania). Gang noted that such relations help to promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges. “Twinning or sister city initiatives are either undertaken by officials of Chinese companies serving in such localities, through people-to-people exchanges or they just happen naturally,” explained Fan Zhi Gang.

As sign of growing ties between Jiangsu and Africa, 40 African Ambassadors, accompanied by 300 officials from their home countries, visited the province in July 2016 to prospect for business and and other cooperation areas. Also in 2016, Jiangsu’s imports from Africa were worth 1.6 Billion US Dollars (about 972 Billion FCFA); while exports to the continent stood at over 9 Billion US...