Written by Lin Han / Translated by Mo Tingting

An Intimate Friendship Between Khon Kaen and Nanning

Written by Lin Han / Translated by Mo Tingting

Reputed as the Green City of China, Nanning is the permanent host city of CAEXPO; and Khon Kaen city serves as a political, cultural, educational, traffi c and rice trading center in northeastern Thailand. In the Qingxiu Mountain Scenic Spot, Nanning, the mascot of Khon Kaen -- Sihe Lion is standing in the ASEANChina Friendship Garden; and in Khon Kaen, some of the citizens who had been to Nanning during the previous CAEXPOs said Nanning is a place that folk songs dearly love. As a matter of fact, the destiny of Nanning, as early as 24 years ago, has been closely tied to Khon Kaen.

The development of Sister-City Relationship

In December 1992, at the invitation of then mayor of Nanning Xie Ruxuan, a delegation of Khon Kaen’s government visited Nanning, marking the beginning of a friendly relationship between the two cities. Every year since then, high-level visits, and exchanges in economy & trade, culture and sports have become increasingly frequent. Along with years of close interactions, the Agreement on the Establishment of Sister-City Relationship was formally signed in August 2002 by the two cities. After the establishment of friendly relationship, Khon Kaen and Nanning have witnessed the development of friendship between Thailand and China, and acted as two driving forces for the common aspirations of the two peoples -- “Thailand and China being the members of one family”.

Since Khon Kaen is a political, commercial, financial, traffic, educational and medical center in northeastern Thailand, the economic structures of Khon Kaen and Nanning are highly complementary, enjoying broad prospects for cooperation. In addition, over 40 enterprises, relevant government departments and performance groups from Nanning held the “Nanning Economic & Trade Seminar” in Khon Kaen, Thailand as early as October 1994, at which 11 contracts, agreements and Letters of Intent were signed, with a total investment of US$ 136.65 million.

Under the Belt and Road construction and an upgraded version of CAFTA, “Nanning Channel” can be regarded as a window and a valuable opportunity for Khon Kaen to proactively explore ASEAN and global markets. By virtue of “Nanning Channel”, the two cities are sharing significant opportunities brought by deepened ASEANChina cooperation, to realize common prosperity and development.

A far-reaching infl uence on cultural exchanges

Apart from economic & trade cooperation, since the establishment of sister-city relationship, one of the highlights of bilateral exchanges is the educational exchanges for young people. Furthermore, sound interactions, such as summer camps, scholarship schemes and exchange visits between colleges and universities, have heated up considerably between the two cities.

In April 2011, to deepen youth exchanges between the two cities, a summer camp for Khon Kaen’s middle school students was held in Nanning Peihong Nationality Middle School, showing a splendid traditional culture of Nanning; and in July of the same year, a delegation consisting of offi cials from Foreign Affairs Offi ce of Overseas Chinese Affairs of Nanning City and teachers and students from Nanning Peihong Nationality Middle School, Nanning No.14 Middle School and Nanning No.18 Middle School carried out a summer camp themed “A Trip to Khon Kaen” in Khon Kaen, achieving fruitful and positive results. In addition, the Agreement on Being Sister Schools was signed between Nanning Peihong Nationality Middle School and a municipal middle school in Khon Kaen.

In 2011, Guangxi Government Scholarship for Students from ASEAN was established to reward excellent students from ASEAN studying in senior high schools of Nanning. So far, 12 students from Khon Kaen have been rewarded. Furthermore, 10 colleges and universities in Khon Kaen have signed cooperation agreement with Nanning’s schools; and teachers and students of the two cities have made further education and exchanges mutually. At the same time, in terms of cultural exchanges, colorful activities, such as recital contest and singing contest in Nanning sponsored by the government and universities of Khon Kaen in September 2014, have fully shown the charm of Thai language and Thai culture, kindled students’interests and passions for studying, strengthened close friendship between Thailand and China, and enhanced bilateral cooperation and mutual trust.

Gardens symbolizing friendship

In 1997, Thailand-China Khon Kaen Friendship Garden has been open in Nanning’s Qingxiu Mountain Scenic Spot; and in 1998, Nanning Garden was completed in Khon Kaen. These two gardens are considered as the results of friendly exchanges between Khon Kaen and Nanning, symbolizing that “Thailand-China friendship enjoys a long history”, as written in the inscription in the Khon Kaen Friendship Garden.

Khon Kaen, a top tourist destination attracting throngs of tourists from all over the world, will be conducive to spreading the “Nanning Elements” to all parts of the world, and increasing Nanning’s popularity. In the same way, as a result of the CAEXPO, visitors from Khon Kaen have been much impressed by the enthusiasm for the promotion of friendship between Thailand and China.

Since the proposal for the renovation of Nanning Garden has been approved by the governments of the two cities, its reconstruction is projected to start in November 2016. As the old saying goes, the amity between the two peoples holds the key to sound relations between two countries. As a crucial window and platform for approaching Chinese culture and charm of Nanning, the renovation of Nanning Garden is not only favorable for the consolidation of intimate friendship between Khon Kaen and Nanning, but also for the extension of cultural cooperation and non-governmental exchanges. Meanwhile, the architecture style and human landscape can be learned by the locals in the most direct manner.

A mission to expand exchanges and cooperation

Thailand-China Khon Kaen Friendship Garden

Cooperation between cities has played a core role in the regional cooperation. And Nanning has enjoyed increasingly closer relationship with cities in ASEAN countries, particularly after the first CAEXPO. Apart from Khon Kaen, Nanning has forged sister-city ties with seven cities in ASEAN countries, namely Hai Phong (Vietnam), Davao (the Philippines), Sihanoukville (Cambodia), Bogor (Indonesia), Yangon (Myanmar), Champasak (Laos) and Ipoh (Malaysia), achieving substantive progress in such fi elds as economy & trade, education, culture, health and science & technology.

Besides, the Seminar on Exchanges and Cooperation between International Sister Cities and Nanning regularly held in the previous CAEXPOs has served as an important carrier to achieve mutual understanding, mutual learning and mutual development, as well as an innovative brand to carry out exchanges and cooperation between international sister cities and Nanning. With the deepening of regional cooperation, looking to the future, Nanning will continue to lift the level of pragmatic cooperation, enrich the content of cooperation, and innovate the form of communication, to push ahead with the cultural exchanges and pragmatic cooperation with sister cities.

Furthermore, a series of activities for deepening cooperation with international sister cities will be held regularly, including seminar on exchanges and cooperation between international sister cities and Nanning, international sister-city art show, UCLG high-level meeting, sister-city information sharing platform, etc.

In fact, strengthening the exchanges and cooperation with sister cities in ASEAN countries, is viewed as a core part of ASEAN-China Community of Shared Destiny, as well as a historical mission shouldered by Nanning. Therefore, Nanning, an important gateway connecting the Belt and the Road, has been committed to strengthening exchanges with sister cities in ASEAN countries, and expanding sister-city cooperation, and thus to propel ASEAN-China regional cooperation with concerted efforts.