New Westminster – New Westminster’s Mayor and Council members were on hand at City Hall today to welcome an official delegation from YunFu City, Guandong in the People’s Republic of China and sign a memorandum of understanding establishing “Friendship” status between the two cities.

“We are very proud to establish a Friendship City relationship with YunFu, a historic city by the West River in Guandong Province,” said Mayor Wayne Wright. “By forging closer ties with this city of 2.6 million people, we aim to open the door to an exchange of culture, ideas and economic opportunities for residents here in New Westminster and in YunFu.”

Mayor Wright signed the MOU with Lili Wang, Vice Mayor of the People’s Government of YunFu.

“On behalf of the citizens of YunFu City, I would like to thank the City of New Westminster for this wonderful opportunity,” said Lili Wang, Vice Mayor of YunFu City. “New Westminster is a very beautiful city that is developing fast and full of hope. We look forward to more opportunities for cooperation and exchange between our two great cities.”

With the signing of the MOU, YunFu City becomes the latest Chinese city to establish a formal relationship with New Westminster, a key port in Metro Vancouver and the first capital of British Columbia. Currently, New Westminster enjoys Sister City status with Lijiang, China and on June 12, signed a Friendship agreement with Zhenjiang at a ceremony in that city.

YunFu City profile:

Situated in Guandong Province, YunFu City enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate and plenty of rainfall. The summer is long while winter is short. The city has an ideal climate with an average temperature of 21.5 degrees centigrade with annual rainfall volume reaching 1,202.4 millimetres. Covering an area of 7,779 square kilometres, YunFu has farmland of more than 834,667 hectares, including more than 674,667 hectares of paddy fields. Currently, the city has a population of more than 2.6 million, including an urban population of 762,100 and 1.7 million farmers. Abundant in natural resources YunFu has more than 50 mineral reserves and is a major marble and stone material production base in the Chinese mainland. YunFu's agricultural products and fruits are also well-known at home and abroad.

Contact:

Blair Fryer, Communications Manager
City of New Westminster
604-527-4688