Mayor Emanuel Welcomes Xu Zezhou, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, China

Mayor Emanuel and Vice Mayor Xu Zezhou unveil the Stone Talk Statue at Chinatown’s Ping Tom Park Field House. Photo Credit: Brooke Collins // City of Chicago

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today welcomed the Vice Mayor of Shanghai, China, Xu Zezhou, and a Shanghai delegation to Chicago. Mayor Emanuel and Vice Mayor Zezhou held a bilateral meeting where they discussed strengthening business and cultural ties on the 30th anniversary of their Sister City relationship.

“I welcome Vice Mayor Xu Zezhou and delegation to Chicago and am pleased to continue strengthening our longstanding relationship with our friends from Shanghai,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Sister City partnerships are about bridging the geography that divides us to build a common future of shared commerce, culture, and cooperation. 30 years later our Sister City ties are stronger than ever.”

In honor of the 30th anniversary, Mayor Emanuel and Vice Mayor Xu Zezhou unveiled the Stone Talk Statue, a gift from the Mayor of Shanghai to Chicago which is now placed at the front of the Ping Tom Park Field House in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood.
Since 1985, the City of Chicago has been Sister Cities with Shanghai, China. The China Sister City committee, comprised of Chicagoans who maintain ties with their city and former homeland, has hosted several high-level delegation visits, organized numerous cultural, educational and social service exchanges, and worked with their counterparts in Shanghai to help strengthen the connection between these two unique cities.

Mayor Emanuel’s meeting today with Vice Mayor Xu Zezhou is another successful installment in the dialogue between Chicago and China. In December 2013, Mayor Emanuel traveled to Beijing where he met with Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Minister Gao Hucheng of the Ministry of Commerce, Chairman Shao Qiwei of the China National Tourism Administration, and President Chen Jining of Tsinghua University. During Mayor Emanuel’s meeting with the Minister of Commerce, the Mayor signed the Gateway Cities Agreement that links Chicago with eight Chinese Cities as gateways for investment into the respective cities – the first of its kind agreement between the Ministry of Commerce and another city anywhere in the world.