Mayor of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Wang Hongju met Monday
with a Japanese delegation headed by Akiba Tadatoshi, mayor of
Hiroshima, as the two cities prepare to commemorate their 20-year
friendship.
A Chongqing government official said the commemorative
activities will include a memorial conference, art performances and
photo exhibitions.
The 181-member delegation from Hiroshima, including the city's
peaceful development department head Iwasaki Seiji and economic
bureau director Sakai Yoshinori, will inspect Chongqing’s
investment environment and undertake negotiations on several
projects.
The two cities have maintained friendly relations since 1986 and
cooperated in economic, social, scientific, educational and
cultural fields.
In 1993, Chongqing and Hiroshima built an acid rain research
center together, and collaborative work between the two cities on
environmental protection problems has been very successful.
(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2006)