By Mao Changzi, translated by Jeannette Song
On November 14, 2024, Kunshan, ranked the number one county-level city in China, signed a Sister-City agreement with Durham, where Duke University, North Carolina’s oldest university, is located.
The commencement of this new historical chapter was witnessed by an exciting and enthusiastic crowd, including Mayor Chen Liyan of Kunshan, accompanied by an 11-person delegation from Kunshan, Mayor Leonardo Williams of Durham and leaders from the government and sister cities association, representatives from both cities’ residents, and members of the local Chinese community.
The mayors of the two cities signed a sister-city cooperation agreement, committing to “enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of both sides, promote friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and achieve cooperative win-win and common development.” The new partnership aims to “uphold the principles of voluntariness, equality, friendship and mutual benefit, the two sides are willing to carry out exchanges and cooperation at all levels and in various forms in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, education, public health, humanities, and human resources development and training.” Within the partnership, “leaders and relevant departments of both sides will actively conduct mutual visits and exchanges, and maintain communication on matters of friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation and issues of common concern.”
At the signing ceremony, the Durham-Kunshan Sister-City Committee co-chair, Professor Jeannette Song from Duke University, who was appointed as the Kunshan-Durham Friendship City Ambassador, revealed that the cities of Kunshan and Durham had signed their Friendship-City agreement on November 14, 2014.
Precisely ten years later, the friendship of the two cities has elevated. In her speech, Mayor Chen Liyan expressed the eagerness and gratitude of the Kunshan delegation to come to Durham. She said: “The bond between Kunshan and Durham originated from Duke Kunshan University. Ten years later, Duke Kunshan is as important an emblem of our city as Duke is for Durham.”
“Durham is a world-renowned city for high quality of life, education, and art. The North Carolina Research Triangle Park is also one of the most prestigious high-tech research and development centers in the United States. Kunshan, with a GDP of over 500 billion RMB, has been ranked first among China’s top 100 counties for 20 consecutive years. It has gathered more than 30,000 industrial enterprises and nearly 10,000 foreign investment projects from more than 80 countries and regions around the world. Now, Kunshan is also accelerating its development into a national first-class industrial science and innovation city.” She expects “more cooperation and win-win results” “between the two places in varying aspects, including industries, cities, and people.”
Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams warmly welcomed the distinguished guests from thousands of miles away. In his speech, he said, “Durham and Kunshan share similarities in scientific research, culture, education, and many other aspects.” “There are many forces in this world that divide us, and at the same time, there are many forces that bring us together.” He said that as sister cities, both sides should understand and respect each other. More importantly, both sides should overcome difficulties and challenges in the sister-city cooperation and share resources for common progress.
Wang Qing, president of the Carolinas AAPI Business Alliance（CABA）, congratulated “this exciting time.” “U.S.-China relations have faced some serious challenges in recent years, but the sister-city relationship is a reminder that even when there are issues between governments that need to be mediated, local people in both countries are able to connect and work together,” he said. “Thank you to Durham Mayor Williams and the Sister Cities Committee for their vision and courage in establishing this relationship with Kunshan.” He gladly foresees that the upgrade of relations between the two cities will bring more trade, investment, and employment opportunities for enterprises from both sides.
Chancellor Liu Yaolin and Executive Vice Chancellor John Quelch of Duke Kunshan University participated in the signing ceremony as members of the delegation from Kunshan. The newly appointed chair of the Durham Sister Cities Committee, Nancy Cox, delivered a speech at the signing ceremony. Mark Goodwillie, the director of the Sister Cities Association, was also appointed as the Durham-Kunshan Friendship City Ambassador.
After careful planning by Lusia Li, the co-chair of Zhuzhou City committee, the president of the North Carolina Jiangsu Association, Deng Hongmei, the vice president Zheng Jie, and dozens of fellow townspeople warmly welcomed the visiting officials from their hometown and voluntarily provided shuttle services.
Jiang Yu Lin, President of North Carolina Chinese Federation, Huang Haihui, Vice President of North and South Carolina Asian Pacific Federation Chamber of Commerce, Liu Hongyan, President of RTP Branch, Wang Xiaojuan, head of the North and South Carolina Chinese Arts Troupe, Professor Liu Kang, a renowned scholar who teaches at Duke University and Duke Kunshan University, representatives of the Duke University Student Union and Chinese student leaders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, jointly witnessed this grand, friendly and warm moment.
“Sister cities matter,” the signing ceremony concluded successfully amid the chorus of cheers from the guests present. Durham gifted Kunshan its iconic city mascot, the bull. Mayor Williams explained that the sculpture symbolizing strength and enterprise was specially engraved with the name “Kunshan.” Kunshan presented Durham with a symbolic sculpture of a deer, also engraved with the name “Durham.” Mayor Chen Liyan expressed her hope that the bull and deer, embodying ideals of ecology, harmony, and prosperity, will freely roam in both cities in the future.
Mayor Williams presented Kunshan Vice Mayor Qin Weixi with a book introducing Durham, and Vice Mayor Qin presented Mayor Williams with a basketball signed with the names of the Kunshan basketball team. He said with great longing that he hopes that Kunqu opera, which originated from Kunshan, could be performed in Durham in the near future; he also expressed a desire to invite Durham’s baseball team to demonstrate their skills in Kunshan.
