WELLINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's capital of Wellington held a grand gala event on Monday to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its sister-city relationship with Beijing.
More than 100 visitors at the New Zealand National Museum on Monday night enjoyed a lively show featuring cultural performances from both nations, including a Maori Haka, Chinese lion dance, and a variety of music.
Both Beijing and Wellington are unique in their political status and cultural heritage, and remain centers of the finance, service and education industries.
Fifteen years on, the cities' bilateral relationship has flourished, making full use of the platform for mutually beneficial cooperation. Both Beijing and Wellington will host a series of related events this year, presenting an opportunity for the two capitals to reflect on their constructive ties.
While hailing the milestone, both sides agreed that the relationship has brought the two cities closer. They called for broadening ties to set an example for relations at the sub-national level between China and New Zealand.
Dignitaries and officials from both countries attended virtually and in person at the gala event on Monday night to celebrate both the sister-city relationship and the 20th anniversary of Chinese New Year Festival celebrations in Wellington.
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster said in his opening remarks that the work Beijing and Wellington have done to maintain and promote links between New Zealand and China through sister city relations and the Chinese New Year Festival has been key in the creation of a strong community spirit in the city.
"The Beijing-Wellington sister relationship has also played a significant role in enhancing the social, economic, and cultural prosperity of Wellington and has fostered an important sense of cultural connection for Chinese New Zealanders and Chinese expats who have made Wellington their home," he said.
Chen Jining, Mayor of Beijing, spoke highly of the sister-city relations with Wellington in his video remarks, saying that Beijing and Wellington have cooperated in areas of trade and investment, culture, sports, tourism, and film and television with mutual benefits, all of which have played a positive role in promoting the sound and stable development of China-New Zealand relations.
"The bicycles Beijing gave Wellington as a gift to the Wellington citizens for the fifth anniversary, the wonderful football match despite the heavy rain at the 10th anniversary - beautiful memories like these never fade from our minds: they are the epitome of the friendship between our two cities," Chen said.
Chen quoted Confucius' motto, "At 15, I set my heart on learning."
"The age of 15 is an age of vibrant youth and boundless energy - an age when a bright future begins to unfold. At the new historical milestone of being sister-city for 15 years, Beijing and Wellington should stand in closer partnership with a new blueprint for win-win cooperation," Chen said.
Chen welcomed companies from Wellington and New Zealand to invest and start businesses in Beijing to share development opportunities.
Sister city ties between China and New Zealand began in 1981. To date, China has set up 40 friendship-province or city relations with New Zealand. For 40 years, sister cities have served as a bridge of communication between China and New Zealand through the promotion of practical cooperation in various fields, complementing each other's comparative advantages.
Due to the pandemic, many people were not able to participate on-site, with the majority taking part virtually. Both Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wu Xi and New Zealand Ambassador to China Clair Fearnley congratulated via video the constructive ties between the two capitals.
