Ｓｅｍｉｎａｒ ｏｎ Ｃｏｏｐｅｒａｔｉｏｎ Ｂｅｔｗｅｅｎ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ ａｎｄ Ａｆｒｉｃａｎ Ｌｏｃａｌ Ｇｏｖｅｒｎｍｅｎｔｓ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ

On May 15， the Seminar on Cooperation Between the Chinese and African Local Governments， jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC and the China International Friendship Cities Association (CIFCA)， was held in Beijing. Representatives of the CPAFFC， the CIFCA， 25 provinces and cities that had formed friendship-city ties with African countries， member units of the Council of the Chinese-African People’s Friendship Association， the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA)， the local government associations of South Africa， Kenya， Mozambique and Botswana as well as diplomats of some African embassies in China， totalling 90 people， attended the seminar.

Since Changsha and Brazzaville formed the first pair of friendship cities in 1982， by the end of 2006， China had twinned 73 pairs of friendship cities with 28 African countries. The exchanges between the two sides are becoming more and more frequent， expanding from exchanges of visits in the beginning gradually to the fields of economy， culture and various aspects of social life.

At the seminar， the participants had in-depth discussions on the current situation and prospects of Sino-African friendship cities， how to improve the work of the friendship cities’ administrative departments， successful experience and problems in such exchanges between friendship cities， and how to solve the problems existing in such exchanges. CPAFFC Vice President Wang Yunze and UCLGA President Smangaliso Mhkatshwa made key-note speeches. Representatives of Sichuan， Guangzhou and Gansu spoke on the exchanges between their provinces/cities and their African counterparts. After the seminar， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and UCLGA President Smangaliso Mhkatshwa， on behalf of their organizations， signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation.