Perm City Administration is considering cooperation with a new Chinese partner – the City of Zunyi, Guizhou province

As Mayor of Perm Aleksey Demkin announced earlier, the twinned links of Perm will be developing, above all, with  eastern countries.  Since 2006 Perm has been twinned  with Qingdao, and currently is negotiating twinning with the city of   Changzhou.

Chinese partners initiated online meeting, where the Head of the Mayor’s Office Alexandr Molokovskikh and specialists representing  the   Perm City Administration  discussed possible cooperation areas with their counterparts from People’s Government of  Zunyì  (Guizhou Province of China).   

–  Perm has been twinned  with Qingdao since 2006, and  these links are quite strong and fruitful, with successful cooperation in education, youth policy, ecology and culture.   We are now looking forward to establishing twinning with the city of Changzhou. For Perm, as for Russian as a whole,  relations with Asian countries  are of strategic importance, –  noted the  Mayor Aleksey Demkin. 

During the meeting, the Chinese  colleagues presented the industrial potential of Zunyi and  its  locations that belong to the world’s cultural and natural heritage.  The city has  well-developed energy and coal-mining industries,  it produces various equipment and new technological materials.  Zunyi is a city with fast developing ecological tourism, as well as “red tourism” (the study of China’s revolutionary past)   and “tea tourism”. Zunyi takes about 10 % of all exports of Chinese tea.  It is also famous for its produce “Moutai”, Chinese rice vodka.

The Permians have already had the experience of interacting  with Zunyi’s companies producing musical instruments, as about one-seventh of all world’s guitars are produced in Zunyi.   Guitars “Natasha” are a partner of international competitions of classical guitar  «Guitar-Perm-Silver» and  «New Generation», providing the prize fund.  The competitions are organised by  “Dynamics” Perm Youth Musical School No 10.

The Chinese partners have numerously emphasized their support of  “Gaige-Kaifang” policy, i.e. the move toward reform and greater openness. The participants of the meeting exchanged ideas on how to further cooperation between the two cities.  Zunyi’s residents interest to learning the Russian language is increasing, especially with senior school children.  The representatives of Education and Sports Department of  Zunyi People’s Government  suggested discussing organization of  mutual exchange programmes for school children,  students and teachers.  The Chinese partners also view the joint programs in developing sports and sport games as an important area of interaction. The administrations of the two cities will consider all possible suggestions for cooperation.    

Head of the Mayor’s Office  Alexandr Molokovskikh  congratulated the colleagues with the  coming  Holiday of  Spring, which  is the Chinese New Year, and invited the delegation from Zunyi to visit Perm on the occasion  of its 300-year anniversary.