Sino-British Cooperation Urged to be BoostedLocal governments of China and Britain should build up an all-round relationship of cooperation oriented toward the new century, a senior Chinese official urged Monday.The cooperation can be undertaken in a wide range of fields and in all manners, said Chen Haosu, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) . He made the remark at a seminar on cooperation between Chinese and British Governments, which made debut here Monday morning. Some 40 government officials and experts from the two countries attended the seminar and they will exchange views on political systems, economic development, social security, urban planning and environmental protection. Cooperation between local governments has been important content of state relationship, he said. Both Chinese and British governments, which are facing similar problems and challenges, hope to provide best services to their people respectively at the lowest cost and highest efficiency. Nigel Cox, minister of British embassy to China, said that relationship between Britain and China has developed smoothly over recent years, and bilateral cooperation has covered a broad range of areas from economy to education. "Britain and China have shared common objectives of achieving more accountable and more efficient local governments responding to the aspiration of all our citizens, including the aspiration for higher living standards and a better quality of life," he added. The minister believed that local governments of the two countries still have more rooms for cooperation. So far, 27 pairs of friendly cities have been established between China and Britain since 1983, including Beijing-London, Shanghai-Liverpool and Wuhan-Manchester. |
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