A video conference is held on Aug 18 in Nantong, China and Florence, Italy to mark the establishment of sister city relations between Nantong and Siena. [Photo by Ding Congrong for en.nantong.gov.cn]

Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province officially established sister city relations with Siena, Italy on Aug 18. To date, the Chinese coastal city has 26 international friendship relations with cities from 19 countries.

Wang Hui, mayor of Nantong and Luigi De Mossi, mayor of Siena, signed the treaty at a video conference which was attended by China's Consul-General in Florence Wang Wengang and government officials from both cities.

According to Wu Xia, director of Nantong's foreign affairs office, the two sides have since 2015 been conducting frequent exchanges in education, sports, arts and trade.

For example, Nantong No 1 Middle School and the School of Arts of Nantong University have partnered with the University for Foreigners of Siena to teach Italian to 270 middle school students and 120 university students.

Nantong has been closely following the COVID-19 situation in Siena, expressing its solidarity with the Italians and providing timely assistance to help the city fight the outbreak.

To date, the Nantong government and the Nantong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medical have donated more than 30,000 face masks and other medical supplies to the Siena government and Siena University Hospital.

In April, Luigi De Mossi met with Qi Lei, a Siena-based doctor from the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, to thank him for his contributions to the city's epidemic prevention and control efforts.

At the video signing ceremony, the mayor once again expressed his gratitude for Nantong's support during the health crisis. He added that he is eager to see the two sides expand cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, bilingual education, filmmaking and winemaking in the future.

Wang said that the two governments should improve the communication mechanism and facilitate exchanges at all levels, including government, industry, company and non-government organization.

He also promised that Nantong will provide optimal policies, services and business environment for investors from Siena.