The 2012 China International Friendship Cities Conference will open on Sept 12 in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. The announcement was made at a news conference held by the Information Office of the Chengdu Municipal People's Government on Sept 4.

Chengdu's information office holds a news conference on Sept 4 for the 2012 China International Friendship Cities Conference.

As many as 96 foreign cities from 55 countries and 88 domestic cities have confirmed their attendance to the conference as of Sept 3.

The two-day event, which is sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and China International Friendship Cities Association (CIFCA), is themed "Happy Cities, Green Life."

Topics of the conference will include pressing urban development issues, such as the city's internationalization, transformation, emergency response and disaster relief, and population aging.

Other activities during the event will include thematic and regional forums and a signing ceremony for new friendship cities. There will also be an awards ceremony for cities that have made prominent contributions to inter-country communication.

Chengdu, hosting city of the conference, started exchanges and cooperation with international friendship cities in 1981. It has established friendship ties with 18 cities and cooperative ties with 35 cities over the past 30 years.

The city has benefited and will continue to benefit from the exchange and cooperation with international friendship cities, especially in the fields of education, culture, economy and trade, and urban construction.

"The conference will promote nongovernmental international exchange of Chengdu and Southwest China as a whole. It also bears vital importance for Chengdu as it seeks to build itself into an open regional center and international city," said Zhong Laizhao, vice director of Chengdu's foreign affairs office.

Established in 2008, the China International Friendship Cities Conference is one of the highest communication platforms for international friendship cities. The biennial conference was held in Beijing in 2008 and Shanghai in 2010.