The 15th anniversary of Wellington and Beijing's sister-city relationship was celebrated at New Zealand's National Museum—the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa —on the evening of February 1.

The Mayor of Wellington said in his speech that a number of joint activities would be organized this year to further deepen cooperation and exchanges between the two cities.

Beijing Mayor Chen Jining, in attendance via video link, said that both sides have collaborated on a variety of mutually beneficial projects in trade and investment, culture, sports, tourism, film and television. The cities' cooperation has helped promote the stable development of China-New Zealand relations.

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wu Xi, through video link, said the sister-city relationship not only plays an important role in the bilateral exchanges in culture, education, commerce and trade, but also becomes a link to promote mutual understanding, trust and friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

The evening of celebration also featured spectacular performances by artists from both countries.

(Note: Content source is from Xinhua.)