“We all know that during the pandemic years the exchanges remained at a very low level. But now after the pandemic everything has come back to normal, so I will suggest that both sides make good use of the sister city relationship and to explore more opportunities and possibilities to have tangible win-win cooperation which can bring more benefits to both sides,” the consul stressed.

Zhen pointed out that these cities in China are “very strong”, as they have their own features and strengths which Iloilo City can benefit from through exchanges and cooperation.
She was referring to Qingdao wherein Iloilo established sister cities ties in 2000; Guangzhou City in Fujian province in 2020; and Wuhan in Hubei province in 2021.

“The potential is great for agriculture, education, green energy, sustainable development, urbanization, even tourism also. If the visa policy to Chinese can ease, then I’m sure the two sides, the tourism bureaus and travel agencies can have better cooperation. The potential is great. Here we have a lot of talents and a lot of the population high percentage have good and high education,” she added.

Meanwhile, Zhen recognized the long history of close connection and mutual learning between Ilonggos and the Chinese community, saying that these things “show vividly that the two cultures and the people enjoy the time and bound of friendship.”