Contact between cities and towns, globally, has unique advantages in benefiting people, said an article in the People's Daily (excerpts below).

According to the China International Friendship Cities Association, 30 Chinese provincial regions, not including Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, and 418 cities have become sister provinces or cities with 452 provinces and 1,390 cities in 131 countries.

Deepening understanding and friendship among people and consolidating a basis for relations among different countries are of far-reaching significance.

China needs a multi-layer exchange and interaction model with the outside world. Different regions have their own cultural, geological and human advantages in carrying out global exchange and cooperation.

Inter-city and inter-province cooperation not only promotes mutual understanding but also creates more development opportunities for different countries.