Sister cities celebrate the success of 55-year relationship

This year marks the 55th anniversary of China and France establishing diplomatic relations. The landmark comes as their first twinned cities, Chengdu and Montpellier, enter a new stage of communication and cooperation.

Last month, the extension project of Chengdu Montpellier Primary and Middle Schools kicked off. Construction on the Chengdu Montpellier Kindergarten is also underway, showing enhanced cooperation in basic education.

In 2011, the two cities agreed to build a Montpellier Primary School in Chengdu and a Chengdu Primary School in Montpellier, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their twinning. The two schools have similar architecture and share the same educational philosophy. It was the first time that a Chinese city and a French city had named schools after each other.

The two cities also pioneered international cooperation in vocational and higher education. In October 2007, Chengdu's health bureau and the Medical School of Montpellier co-founded the first diploma of traditional Chinese medicine in Europe, arousing the interest of Western medical and media circles.

In September 2013, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and the Montpellier 2 University established a Confucius Institute, the first of its kind built by two engineering colleges from China and France. The institute built a platform for the Chinese language and traditional culture to go global, and creates opportunity for local universities in Chengdu to conduct international academic communications and talent exchange programs in France.

Currently there are six schools in Montpellier that have opened Chinese language courses, making it the first French city to teach Chinese in primary, middle and high schools. Chengdu also runs French language courses in schools.

Every summer vacation, students from these language classes visit each other to build relationships.

Chengdu and Montpellier became sister cities in 1981, three years after the reform and opening-up of China. Over the past 38 years, communications between the two cities have covered various segments, including TCM, culture, education, trade and sports.

Local specialties have also brought them closer. Montpellier, in southern France, has a mild climate. This is advantageous for the wine industry. Southwest China's Sichuan province where Chengdu is located, is also a famous production center of baijiu, or white liquor.

In recent years, Montpellier's government arranged for companies to attend the EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair and the China Food and Drinks Fair in Chengdu many times.

The Montpellier and EU Project Innovation Centre (Chengdu) signed an agreement during the EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair in 2012, to build a platform to promote wine culture. In March 2013, the platform was opened, to help in cross-border commercial activities. Montpellier has an economic and trade office in Chengdu.

They also have close cooperation in medical health. According to Wang Peng, a staff member of the foreign affairs office of Chengdu, the city's municipal administration of hospitals signed a memorandum of understanding with Montpellier's government and the medical center of the University of Montpellier to establish a diabetes and Alzheimer's disease research center in Chengdu.

In 2014, Montpellier and Chengdu co-founded an endocrine metabolism diseases research institute at the Chengdu First People's Hospital, and a senile diseases research institute at the Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital.

The two cities have sent doctors for work and medical exchanges and both pledge more cooperation in scientific study and clinical practice in the future.

Benefiting from the twinning, Chengdu has made a name for itself in extreme sports. With the support of Helene Mandroux, former mayor of Montpellier, Chengdu held theFISE (Festival International of Extreme Sports) World Series in 2014.

Chengdu has been selected as the only destination in China for FISE World Series, one of the world's largest extreme sports contests, for five years running.

Many cooperative programs, such as the Confucius Institute and Chengdu Montpellier Primary School, have won awards for achievements in China-France local government cooperation.

(China Daily 03/26/2019 page5)