The 2026 China International Friendship Cities Conference was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, from October 20 to 22. At the conference, Beijing once again won the "International Friendship City Award for Outstanding Contribution," while Minsk in Belarus, one of Beijing's sister cities, received the "Friendship City Award for Outstanding Partnership with China". Meanwhile, Shijingshan District, Beijing, and Almazar District in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, signed the "Agreement on the Establishment of Friendship City Relationship".

Beijing now has 295 sister cities and international friendly exchange cities across five continents. The city previously won the "International Friendship Cities Exchange Award" four times in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2016, and received the "International Friendship City Award for Outstanding Contribution" in 2024.

Certificates awarded to Beijing and Minsk

The China International Friendship Cities Conference has been held every two years since 2008. Under the theme "Strengthening Sister-City Cooperation for Shared Urban Development", this year's conference brought together more than 700 participants, including local government representatives from 61 countries across five continents.

(Source: Beijing Daily)