On October 19^th, You Mengjun, mayor of Fuzhou City met Clare Fearnley, New Zealand’s ambassador to China, and her colleagues.

    At the request of Lin Baojin, member of the standing committee of Fujian Provincial Party Committee and secretary of Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee, You Mengjun, mayor of Fuzhou City, extended his warm welcome to ambassador Clare Fearnley and her colleagues on behalf of the municipal CPC committee and the municipal people’s government. He said that in recent years, the interaction between New Zealand and Fuzhou City had been increasingly close. Both parties arranged group visits and discussed various issues thoroughly, resulting in more and more cooperation in economy, trade, investment, science, education, culture, tourism and other aspects. In terms of purchase, exhibition, sale, storage and other processes, a series of productive cooperation have been made between Fuzhou Mintian Group Co. Ltd and Rongxia Group in New Zealand. Ningshun Shipping Company and two other companies in New Zealand cooperated in technology and maintenance of yachts. The joint education programs of animation design and production, international finance, internet technology and other aspects were implemented by Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and Lincoln University in New Zealand as well as Fuzhou Institute of Technology and Whitireia Community Polytechnic in New Zealand. All of these cooperation proved to be effective. Currently, with the opportunity from the strategy of “multiple overlapping areas”, Fujian had been integrating into the “Belt and Road” initiative to reach a new height of reform and opening-up that was of all aspects, multiple levels and wide area. He hoped that both parties could jointly push forward cooperation of wider area and deeper level as well as create a bright future.

    As for next steps, mayor You Menjun wanted to enhance economic and trade exchanges, expand bilateral trade market and explore cooperation in terms of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery industry, food, tourism and aviation. He also wished that ambassador Clare Fearnley could recommend cities with relatively same administrative level and complementary industries when compared with the Fuzhou City and that more routine interaction would be carried out by appointed ones, so as to establish a friendly relationship. Education collaboration should also be carried out, so education departments and high-level institutions should be encouraged to communicate to improve the levels of education, research and human resource. Tourism in our two countries should also work hand in hand to establish key tourism routes relating to the “Belt and Road” initiative, so as to accelerate the progress of tourism of both sides.　

    The ambassador Clare Fearnley spoke highly of the result of pandemic prevention and control as well as economic and social development. She hoped that there would be more communication to enhance our relationship in terms of trade, tourism, education, science and technology to push forward our friendship. She also exchanged ideas with mayor You Mengjun about the resumption of work and production, the plan for Fuzhou City of the “14^th Five Year” plan and measures to promote the “dual circulation”.

    Li Chun, deputy mayor of Fuzhou City, and Shen Li, consul-general of New Zealand in Guangzhou, participated the meeting.