Marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a sister cities bond between Guangzhou and Frankfurt, Guangzhou Mayor Chen Zhiying led a delegation to Frankfurt from Aug 19 to 21. 

During his visit, Chen invited his Frankfurt counterpart to Guangzhou for the 24th World Route Development Forum to be held from Sept 15 to 18.

Officials from Guangzhou talk with their Frankfurt counterparts at a roundtable meeting. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In April 1988, Guangzhou and Frankfurt forged the bond and the two cities have continuously strengthened friendly exchanges over the past 30 years. Both the government and the people have maintained close exchanges of various forms and fruitful cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, education and tourism.

At a roundtable meeting held to discuss sister cities cooperation projects, Chen noted that Frankfurt's convention and exhibition industry is well-known in the world and Guangzhou has organized a large number of companies to participate in the exhibitions every year. With the help of Frankfurt's exhibition companies, Guangzhou has hosted a raft of famous exhibitions such as the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition. In 2017, the number of exhibitions in Guangzhou city ranked second in China.

Chen also expressed his wishes to boost cooperation with Frankfurt in four areas – airport economic industries, exhibitions, the financial industry and sci-tech innovation.

According to Qiu Zhizhong, deputy director of the Guangzhou Airport Economic Zone Management Committee, modern airport economy combines hi-tech with the service industry. Qiu said Guangzhou welcomes more German companies to the Guangzhou Airport Economic Zone to deepen cooperation in the high-end manufacturing sector and achieve mutual benefits and win-win results. 

The Guangzhou delegation and Frankfurt authorities also talked about operating direct flight routes between the two cities and passing on the friendly relationship of the two cities to the next generation.