Shandong's governor, Jiang Daming, and the premier of Quebec, Canada, Jean Charest, sign an agreement on friendly ties, in 2008.

Three decades of contact have meant international exchanges and cooperation

Some cities in Shandong province have been making a special effort to develop ties with foreign cities for at least three decades - only a year after China started its reform and opening-up policy - and it looks as though the friendly, cooperative relations have paid off for some.

The first of Shandong's cities to establish sisterly relations was Qingdao, with Japan's Shimonoseki in 1979. Cities in the province now have relations with cities in 60 countries and regions.

"These sister cities are helping Shandong's opening up and have served as an important means of international exchanges and cooperation," explained Jiang Daming, the province's governor.

Jiang explained that, thanks to the sister-city programs, Shandong has introduced more investment, technology, and talented people, which have significantly helped its economic and social development.

At the same time, the exchanges have increased the province's presence globally, he added.

Over the three-decade period, Shandong's cities have held more than 200 trade talks, conferences and exhibitions on culture, economy, and training with foreign counterparts. And, this has brought nearly 400 enterprises from abroad looking for development opportunities in the province.

In April, the provincial government sent a delegation involving 21 enterprises to the 2011 Hanover Fair, in Germany where more than 5,000 potential buyers visited the Shandong booths.

This resulted in 240 million euros ($319 million) worth of trade deals, according to Shandong Foreign Affairs Offic.

Two of the bigger winners in the trade deals were the Shandong Yonghe Precise Metals Co Ltd, which collected 10 million euros ($13.3 million) worth of orders, and the Shandong Huali Electric Motor Co Ltd, whose orders amounted to 30 million euros ($40 million).

In addition to the successful trade connections, the sister-city programs have led to technological exchanges.

So far, more than 2,000 foreign experts have come to work in Shandong, providing important agricultural and engineering information.

And, around 150 foreign experts have been awarded the Qilu Friendship Prize, the most prestigious provincial government award for expats who have made a great contribution in Shandong.

There have also been some more fruitful cooperative relations established at the grassroots level in education, the media and medical care.

The province has also held more than 40 Confucius festivals and 50 Shandong Culture Week events in participating foreign countries.

As part of this, Shandong has donated statues of Confucius to sister cities, such as Wakayama, in Japan, Bahia, in Brazil and Germany's Bavaria to strengthen the friendship.

In the area of conferences, the province has cooperated with Bavaria in Germany, Upper Austria, the Western Cape in South Africa, Quebec in Canada, the state of Georgia in the United States and Sao Paulo in Brazil to establish a summit to discuss affairs on common interest.

This forum has been held five times so far.