Sister city relationships between Chinese and foreign cities/provinces/states have reached 3,187 pairs

Changsha, Sept. 19 (China News Service) — A reporter learned from the 2026 Hunan International Sister Cities Economic and Trade Activities and Cooperation Dialogue that since the first pair of Chinese and foreign sister cities was established in 1973, 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China and 559 cities have established 3,187 pairs of sister city (province/state) relationships with 620 provinces/states and 1,922 cities in 153 countries. The report shows that in recent years Hunan has continued to expand its external exchanges. At present, the province has a total of 120 international sister city pairs, and its cooperation network covers regions including Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. At this event, Hunan added 7 new pairs of intended sister cities and signed a provincial sister city cooperation roadmap and a municipal friendship exchange plan. Hunan Province reached new cooperation intentions with places including Mogilev Region in Belarus, while Changsha, Hengyang and Loudi also promoted friendly exchanges and practical cooperation with cities in multiple countries.