The sister-city relationship between South Africa's popular tourism destination Cape Town and its Chinese counterpart Hangzhou "has been of mutual benefit to both cities," a senior Cape Town official said on April 14.

Cape Town and Hangzhou became sister cities in 2005. According to the Cape Town municipality, the two cities have shared programs for mutual promotion as tourist destinations, premier education hubs, as well as for academic and cultural exchanges.

Their agreement "has allowed us to share the best international practice on how to attract trade and investment and has been of mutual benefit to both cities," said Alderman James Vos, Cape Town's Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, in a statement released after a virtual meeting attended by officials from the two cities.

He explained the importance of partnering with other cities in understanding the evolvement of the world against the background of globalization, especially in a post COVID-19 era.

Cape Town has formed partnership with a number of international cities to "help establish mutually beneficial relations to promote economic growth through trade and investment," he said.

During the meeting, which focused on investment promotion, Cape Town officials shared the city's strategy of investment and facilitation with Hangzhou. They also invited individuals and enterprises from Hangzhou to travel to and invest in Cape Town.

Official figures showed that Cape Town attracted 11.27 billion rands ($780 million) in investment over the past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.