As per Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the establishment of sister-city relationship between Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, PRC and Durham, North Carolina, USA is officially approved. Durham and Kunshan thus formally become the 288th pair of sister cities between China and the United States.

Kunshan, a city that dominates China’s list of top 100 counties and county-level cities for 20 consecutive years till 2024, serves as a demonstration and model for the development of Chinese modernization at its county-level. Durham, home to the world-renowned Duke University, is hailed as the “Silicon Valley of Eastern America” and the “City of Medicine”. As two highly representative cities of China and the United States, the two cities have made remarkable achievements in cultural and people-to-people exchange such as education and art since establishing its friendship-city relationship in 2013.

On November 14, 2024, in Durham, at the Signing Ceremony of Durham-Kunshan Sister-City Agreement, Kunshan Mayor Chen Liyan and Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams jointly signed the AGREEMENT ON ESTABLISHING SISTER-CITY RELATIONSHIP. They also presented the “Durham-Kunshan Sister-City Ambassador” commemorative certificates to Mark Goodwillie and Jeannette Song, Co-Chairs of Sister Cities of Durham (SCD) Durham-Kunshan Committee. Attendees of the ceremony included over 70 guests from Durham City Council, SCD and Duke University.

At the signing ceremony, Mayor Chen Liyan expressed her gratitude to all those who supported and promoted Durham-Kunshan sister-city relationship. She stated that, at the warm invitation of Mayor Williams, Kunshan delegation had come as promised, and the two cities had crossed thousands of miles to meet and establish sister-city relationship. This is not only a continuation of past exchanges but also the beginning of an all-round cooperation. She expressed the confidence that, with the support of numerous commercial and industrial associations, the two cities will deepen pragmatic cooperation in areas such as commerce, technology, culture, education, and urban governance, thus contributing to the healthy and stable development of China-US relations.

Mayor Williams emotionally expressed his understanding of sister cities: Regardless of how international circumstances may change, love is always the “only currency” between sister cities. Although many factors in the world may separate us, there are more that can bring us together. Sister-city relationship allows us to prioritize what bring us together. The two cities share many commonalities and can engage in diverse cooperation in business, technology, education, and other fields.