The city of Lyon has witnessed a long-term friendship between China and France.
Around 100 years ago, groups of Chinese young people harboring the dream of saving the nation traveled far away abroad to learn new ideas, new knowledge and new concepts. The Lyon Sino-French Institute was the only overseas university institution that China founded in modern times and cultivated many leading figures and various talents.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the site of the Lyon Sino-French Institute in 2014.
Alain Labat, vice president of the New Sino-French Institute, was among the group welcoming him.
"It's so rare for someone like me to be close to a foreign president, I even couldn't get close to our president. We had a conversation with him about the relationship between the Sino-French Institute and the creation of the communist party in China and France," said Labat.
"To be capable of piloting our relationship, we need to be aware of our history. Because the moments we succeeded in communicating and the moments in which we failed are extremely significant," said Labat.
Lyon Sino-French Institute witnesses long-lasting friendship between China, France
San Francisco is eager to promote cooperation in air travel, green transition and more areas with China, and is anticipating to welcome a pair of giant pandas from the other side of the Pacific Ocean, said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
Last month, Breed led a delegation to China's Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai to deepen friendly cooperation between the U.S. city and China.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) in San Francisco, Breed highlighted the outcomes of the trip, outlining potential areas for increased cooperation between the two sides.
"The technology and also the desire to have a more significant impact on the climate, the electric vehicles and the electric vehicle infrastructure," she said.
The mayor also emphasized that expanding flight options would make San Francisco more accessible, fueling tourism growth and its contribution to the local economy.
"It appears the airlines there were very much interested in adding more flights, and we know that San Francisco also has incentives for landing fee waivers and other things. So we're ready to go. But there are some, you know, real challenges with the department of transportation, and there are things that are way above my level. But we are being very aggressive about encouraging more flight options to San Francisco from China, not just because of the relationships of the people who live here, but because of the economic impacts," she said.
During Breed's visit to Beijing, an arrangement was reached under which two giant pandas will have a temporary home in San Francisco from next year.
On the last stop of her eight-day official trip, Breed also visited the giant panda sanctuary at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park.
Mayor Breed concluded by discussing the local community's excitement surrounding the arrival of the black-and-white bears.
"We are really hopeful and optimistic that we can actually receive the pandas, hopefully early next year and at the latest maybe sometime summer of 2025. We are super excited about welcoming them here to San Francisco," she said.
San Francisco eager to increase cooperation with China, welcome giant pandas: mayor
