Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong Reaffirm Sister City Relationship and Emphasize Economic Exchange

(Washington, DC) – While visiting China with other District officials and business leaders on an economic-development mission, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong today announced the reaffirmation of the Sister City Agreement between the two capital cities. DC’s special relationship with Beijing spans 28 years, and today’s signing of the renewed agreement reflects a continued commitment to cooperative engagement while symbolizing the mayors’ efforts to maintain and strengthen the partnership.

“I am thrilled that our relationship with the city of Beijing will be extended and expanded to focus not only on educational and cultural exchanges, but also on concrete actions that will result in economic development for the residents of both Beijing and the District,” Mayor Gray said. “By emphasizing partnerships in the arenas of real-estate development, tourism, investment, sustainability and technology, we are promoting global trade at the local level.”

At the signing ceremony, Mayor Guo said, “Beijing and Washington first signed the Sister City Agreement in 1984. Over the past 28 years the two cities have made exchanges economically, through trade, culture, education and other fields, and achieved fruitful results. As the capitals of the biggest developing country and biggest developed country, the trade and cooperation between Beijing and Washington is especially significant.”

Prior to today’s signing, the most recent agreement between Beijing and the District was signed in 2004 by former D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams and former Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan.

The US-China Capital Friendship Council was established shortly after the first Sister City Agreement was signed in 1984 and was chaired by District architect Alfred H. Liu, with oversight from the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia. In 1986, the District dedicated the Friendship Archway on H Street NW in Chinatown — a traditional Chinese gate designed by Liu. This archway was recently refurbished under the terms of the 2004 Sister City Agreement. While the Chinese gate was constructed to serve as a symbol of the established relationship between Beijing and the District, it also reinforces and emphasizes the historic Chinese character of the Chinatown neighborhood.

This outstanding work of public art is 60 feet tall at its highest point and includes seven roofs, 7,000 tiles and 272 painted dragons in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The archway continues to serve as a symbol of the long-standing Sister City friendship between the capitals of the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America, and it reflects the history of this vibrant relationship as well as the community in which it stands.

The District also has Sister City relationships with Bangkok, Thailand; Dakar, Senegal; Brussels, Belgium; Tshwane (Pretoria), South Africa; Paris, France; Athens, Greece; Seoul, South Korea; Accra, Ghana; Sunderland, England; Rome, Italy; and Ankara, Turkey.