On Nov 21, representatives from 31 cities, as well as international organizations and regions in 23 different countries gathered at the International Friendship City Summit in Wuhan, which focused on the ecological construction of urban areas to promote quality living.

San Francisco Mayor Li Mengxian visited Optics Valley with his delegation and mentioned that they would bring the "flying car" along with the latest genetic testing technology and other projects to the area.

The mayor also mentioned that he had gained a deep impression of Optics Valley and was aware of its future prospects while discussing with the some of the world's top 500 US companies including IBM, HP and Synopsys on their development already underway in the region.

In an exclusive interview by China Daily, Li said during his term of office he will urge further cooperation between San Francisco and Wuhan. The mayor emphasized development in their bilateral tourism market and promoting economic, artistic and personal exchanges hand-in-hand with Wuhan to enable richer, fuller contacts and cooperation between the two cities.

Following this meeting, the Mayor of Wuhan, Tang Liangzhi, and San Francisco Mayor Li signed a Friendship Agreement. Wuhan officially became the first friendship city of San Francisco in central China. It is hoped that non-stop flights will be launched between the two cities and further exchanges can take place in various other fields.

Later in the evening, Wuhan also signed friendship agreements with Siem Reap in Kampuchea, Biratnagar in Nepal and Bangkok in Thailand. Currently Wuhan already has signed friendship agreements with 20 cities.

Meanwhile, Wuhan with Oita City in Japan and Daejeon in South Korea renewed two cooperation agreements for the coming year of 2014; the water authority also signed a water cooperation agreement with the France’s Bordeaux Water Department and the Carbon Emission Reduction Association of Wuhan signed a cooperation agreement with a French company.

Edited by Nigel Moffy and Le Qin