NANJING -- The city of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province and Zvezdara in Serbia on Friday signed an agreement via video link to establish a sister-city relationship, vowing to deepen cooperation in fields such as the economy and trade, technology, tourism and sports.

Wu Xinming, mayor of Nantong, expressed hope that the sister-city relationship would open a new chapter in which the two cities would share development opportunities and build a regular exchange mechanism.

Vladan Jeremic, president of the City Municipality of Zvezdara, thanked Nantong for helping Zvezdara combat COVID-19. After the pandemic began, Nantong called upon local enterprises and the Nantong chamber of commerce in Serbia to donate medical supplies like masks and protective suits to Zvezdara.

Jeremic also said that he welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in Zvezdara and obtain win-win outcomes.

So far, Nantong has established international sister-city relationships with 27 cities in 17 countries and regions, according to the municipal government's foreign affairs office.