Canberra's International Relationships

A sister city relationship was signed with Beijing in September 2000 to strengthen Canberra's relationship with the Chinese capital and to further develop cultural and business opportunities. From the first visit to China in 1997 the ACT Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Beijing Municipal Council to establish a Cooperative Business Council (CBC). This was the first such CBC the Beijing Municipal Government established with any of its 27 sister cities around the world.

The Canberra-Beijing Cooperative Business Council acts as a vehicle to develop business links between Canberra and Beijing.

Delegations between Canberra and Beijing have so far covered environmental management, agriculture, public administration, tourism, education and hospitality training.

The ACT Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hangzhou Municipal Government in 1998.

Areas of mutual interest listed in the Memorandum of Understanding include environmental management technology, building techniques, information technology, education and tourism promotion.

Visiting Official Delegations from China

Mr Mao Linsheng, Mayor of Hangzhou led a delegation to Canberra in April 2003. During his visit, the ACT Government and Hangzhou Government signed an 'Agreement on the Establishment of Friendly Exchange Relationships'. The agreement is designed to further promote business opportunities and cultural exchanges between the two cities. The ACT Environmental Consortium also won a project in "Air Pollution" consultancy from the Hangzhou Environmental and Planning Bureau.

The Sister City relationship with Nara, Japan was developed to foster international understanding, peace and goodwill. Since its establishment in 1993, the sister city relationship has strived to overcome political, cultural and ethnic differences through educating the citizens of both cities.