President Obama: Sister Cities Exchanges Are Wonderful

In a town hall meeting today in Shanghai, China, President Obama mentioned the value of more than 200 friendship cities between the U.S. and China. Later in the event, he was asked about the Shanghai-Chicago partnership. His response:

"I was just having lunch before I came here with the Mayor of Shanghai, and he told me that he has had an excellent relationship with the city of Chicago -- my home town -- that he's visited there twice. And I think it's wonderful to have these exchanges between cities."

He continued by talking about the types of exchanges he thinks would be favorable, such as climate change and clean energy. He finished by saying, "..it's a terrific opportunity I think for us to learn from each other."

Citizen Diplomacy is on the move! A great acknowledgement for the sister cities movement.

Read the whole Town Hall Transcript.