President of China Hails Sister Cities and the Importance of Exchanges

I'm pleased to report President Hu made reference to the importance of sister cities in the growing relations between China and the U.S. His reference also stresses the importance of all types of people-to-people exchanges. Read at his quote from the joint press conference yesterday with President Obama (who is also the Honorary Chairman of Sister Cities International).

PRESIDENT HU: "...I think that the exchanges between our two peoples represent the basis and the driving force behind the growth of our relationship. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries, we have seen more robust exchanges between our two peoples. And such exchanges have also helped promote the steady growth of our relationship.

The statistics I have show that each year we have about 3 million people traveling between our two countries. In other words, on every single day, about 7,000 to 8,000 will be traveling between China and the United States. This is something hardly conceivable 32 years ago when we first established diplomatic ties.

In addition, we have also seen very broad-ranging development of the exchanges at sub-national level. So far, our two countries have already established sister relationships between 36 provinces and states, and we have also developed 161 pairs of sister cities between our two countries.

The Chinese government is supportive of the friendly exchanges between our two peoples, and we have been creating all kinds of conditions to expand the friendly exchanges between the American and the Chinese peoples.

During this visit, President Obama and I reached an agreement that both sides will take positive steps to further increase the people-to-people exchanges. On one hand, we will encourage the young people in our two countries to go to each other’s countries to pursue further education and to learn more about each other. And at the same time, we have also decided to put in place dialogue and exchange mechanisms between different Chinese and American provinces and states.

Besides, we are also going to further expand cultural exchanges and develop tourism. We are going to use a variety of means to further increase people-to-people exchanges.

I would like to particularly stress here that the young people hold the future of this relationship. It is extremely important to increase the exchanges between the young people in our two countries. Through such exchanges, I hope that our friendship can be furthered. And I also hope that they in the future can serve as ambassadors of goodwill for our two countries, and they can make even more positive contribution to the development of a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit."

Read the full press conference transcript.

Source: www.whitehouse.gov

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.

Inspired Service Here & Abroad

At a town hall meeting in France last month, President Obama urged the audience to find ways to engage in public service, he said: "The world has so many challenges now. There are so many opportunities. Jump in. Get involved. It does mean sometimes you'll get criticized, and sometimes you'll fail and you'll be disappointed. But you'll have a great adventure, and at some point in your life you'll be able to look back and say, 'I made a difference.'" (Washington Post, 4/4/09)

This struck me as I was in the midst of attending a series of local and regional sister city events and meetings. At each one - something strikes me: Why do you do this?

Of course, volunteerism across many sectors is enjoying a tremendous surge. The call to service is not new. Whether it’s “Ask Not” or it’s the National Service Act signed into law a few weeks ago. Serving our country or community is fundamental to the country’s psyche today as it was the fabric of our nation’s communities at our founding. The same inherit motivation is not found in many (most) places abroad. (Note: this is not to say volunteerism or commitment to service does not exist abroad.)

But, we’ve been doing this for 53 years – that’s a lot of people opening up their homes to host a visitor from abroad, spending their own money to fly to Africa to work on a water project, contributing funds to sponsor a student to study in the U.S., or time to coordinate an exchange of business executives.

Volunteer management, or more specifically how we motivate, activate, recruit, retain, and inspire our local volunteers, is a challenge many organizations wrestle with, but I have developed a great deal of respect for the sister cities citizen diplomat volunteer corps. These folks give more than: a little time, a little money, or a little talent – it’s an inspired vigor for engaging people who usually speak another language, may hold political or religious views that counter your own, or may hold a station in life that completely flummoxes you. This isn’t for the faint of heart or for individuals who live in a monotone life.

So I return to my core question, why do you do this? The answer I receive is simple: to make a difference. “The difference” manifests itself personally through their stories, experiences, and relationships around the world.