Mayor Bloomberg meets with Guo Jinlong, Mayor of Beijing, December 11, 2007 (Photo Credit: Spencer T Tucker

New York City continues to strengthen its partnership with Beijing through political and cultural exchanges.  Recent activities include:

2008 - 2009 Beijing continues its participation in Global Partners Junior which connects NYC students to their peers around the world.  Students at Fang Cao Di Primary School in Beijing have participated since the program was launched in 2005. During the school year, Beijing students communicated with their NYC peers online with discussions and projects focused on the environment.  New York City students also were visited by two guest speakers from Beijing who taught the children traditional Chinese customs.

June 25-27th 2008 Global Partners held the Public Health and Climate Change Summit, bringing together policy leaders from 27 cities.  Beijing was represented by Ming Dengli, Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Environmental Protection, and Xie Hui, Deputy Division Chief of the Bureau of Health.

From left to right: Beijing delegates Ming Dengli and Xie Hui, Seoul delegate Younghan Kim, and Hong Kong delegate David Wong at City Hall, June 27th 2008 (Photo Credit: NYCGP)

2007 - 2008   Beijing students at Fang Cao Di Primary School participated in Global Partners Junior, the student internet exchange program.  Beijing and New York City students exchanged ideas throughout the year about local culture and history. 

December 9-10th 2007 Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg visited Beijing where he met with then acting-Mayor Guo Jinlong. Together, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding, reaffirming the two cities partnership.  Text from the Memorandum can be viewed here. 

During his trip, Mayor Bloomberg also spoke at the China-U.S. Innovation Conference and at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.  Access the texts of Mayor Bloomberg's speeches below:

May 14-17th 2007 Global Partners was a co-sponsor of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit. Leaders from over 30 world cities convened to share best practices, identify collaborative projects and chart future actions relative to climate change and economic development. Shi Hanmin, Director General of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, participated on behalf of Beijing.

January 18-19th 2007 Global Partners hosted its international summit "Governing a Diverse City in a Democratic Society ." Delegates from 26 cities around the world convened to learn about New York City's innovative approaches to governing its diverse population.  Beijing was represented by a 5-member delegation from various municipal agencies.