Zhejiang International Communication Center（ZICC）
From Klang on the Strait of Malacca to Rouen on the Seine, and from Auckland in the Southern Hemisphere to Florence, renowned for its Renaissance heritage, what do these distant cities have in common with Ningbo?
The 2026 Global Mayors Dialogue · Ningbo is being held in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, from November 2 to 5 under the theme “Openness and Connectivity for Shared Opportunities”. A look at the list of participating cities and regions reveals that many already have longstanding friendships with Ningbo. Others, though thousands of miles away, share similar strengths and foundations for development. Ports, sailing, and historic libraries—these shared features offer starting points for conversations across oceans and continents.
Prospering through Maritime Trade: Ports Provide a Common Language
To understand Ningbo in China, Klang in Malaysia, Suez in Egypt, and Rouen in France, start with their ports and waterways. By connecting producers with markets, a port brings more than ships and cargo: it creates opportunities for industries to grow.
Ningbo-Zhoushan Port connects with global markets through an extensive network of shipping routes. The Suez Canal, linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, is a vital artery of international shipping. The China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Suez Governorate has become a model project aligned with the development of Egypt’s Suez Canal Corridor Economic Belt. For these globally connected port cities and regions, a shared topic of discussion is how to turn their transport advantages into drivers of development.
(Located in Suez Governorate, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone has become a demonstration project aligning with Egypt’s “Suez Canal Economic Zone” strategy. Photo by Xinhua)
The conversation between Ningbo and Klang has already extended beyond the docks to trade and industry. A Ningbo–Klang meeting on economic, trade, and industrial cooperation was held in Klang on May 13 this year. Nearly 100 representatives from government, business, and industry in China and Malaysia discussed ways to strengthen business links and develop platforms for industrial cooperation. From port links to industrial cooperation, exchanges between the two cities are producing tangible results.
(Ningbo–Klang meeting on economic, trade, and industrial cooperation was held in Klang on May 13 this year. Photo by Xinhua)
Ningbo’s relationship with Rouen in France has also taken on a green dimension. The two cities established a sister-city relationship in 1990 and have maintained exchanges and cooperation in trade, culture, education, and other fields for more than three decades. In recent years, green shipping has emerged as a new area of cooperation. In May 2025, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and HAROPA PORT signed a cooperation agreement during the Maritime Silk Road Port Cooperation Forum. This May, they joined other partners in signing a green shipping corridor initiative, making greener shipping a priority for their future cooperation.
(The bustling Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. Photo provided to ZICC)
How can ships reduce emissions while berthed? How can maritime and inland waterway transport be better connected? How can clean fuels become part of everyday shipping operations? A port’s competitiveness increasingly depends on its environmental performance. From the shores of the East China Sea to the Seine basin, the two cities are linked by trade and face the shared challenge of moving toward a low-carbon future.
A Shared Love of the Sea: Sailing Strengthens Friendships
The sea shapes more than a city’s trade; it also influences its sporting culture and way of life. Auckland, New Zealand, is known as the “City of Sails,” while Ningbo is encouraging more people to experience the sea through sailing.
The friendship between the two cities dates back to 1998, when Ningbo established sister-city relations with Waitakere in New Zealand. After Waitakere became part of Auckland, Auckland and Ningbo signed an agreement in 2012 to continue developing those ties.
Sailing has given this friendship a more personal dimension, with New Zealand coaches and crew members playing active roles in the ChinaOne.Ningbo sailing team. When the team’s racing yacht returned to its home port in Ningbo in 2023, New Zealander Jonathan Rankine sailed into Meishan Bay alongside Chinese crew members.
(ChinaOne.Ningbo sailing team ailed into Meishan Bay in Ningbo on Dec 6, 2023. Photo by China Daily)
That shared enthusiasm is also creating new opportunities for cooperation. A Ningbo municipal government delegation attended an “International Day” promotional event during Auckland Startup Week 2026 in October, seeking to deepen exchanges between the two cities in sports equipment manufacturing, sailing and yachting, and outdoor sports.
From competitive racing to recreational sailing, and from sport itself to the industries that support it, the sea is helping people from different countries build closer connections.
Shared Dedication to Preserving Cultural Heritage: Historic Libraries Open New Conversations
If Ningbo’s port is its gateway to the world, Tianyi Ge offers another window into the city. In Florence, Italy, the Laurentian Library has also preserved a rich literary heritage for centuries. Both cities share a concern: how to pass historic texts and cultural memory on to future generations.
In 2022, the director of Ningbo’s Tianyi Ge Museum joined the directors of the Laurentian Library in Florence and the Malatestiana Library for an online dialogue. They signed the Ningbo Consensus, agreeing to work together to preserve historic libraries, study their collections, and promote public awareness of book-collecting traditions.
These exchanges continued in June 2025, when Tianyi Ge Museum held an online dialogue with Florence’s Casa Buonarroti museum on artistic spirit and passing cultural heritage on to future generations. While one safeguards historic Chinese texts and the other preserves Renaissance art, both work to keep history alive and help people today connect with the past.
Ningbo’s literary ties also extend across the Indian Ocean to Africa. In Tamatave, Madagascar, Ningbo University offers educational programs in partnership with a local university. In 2025, Tianyi Ge Museum brought its overseas educational outreach program, “Reading the Classics with My Child,” to the city, introducing young Africans to traditional Chinese culture. From preserving historic texts to teaching Chinese, these exchanges continue to connect cities across oceans and continents.
(“Reading the Classics with My Child” program introduces young Africans to traditional Chinese culture. Photo by China News Service)
Cities can get to know one another through vast trading networks or through a single book or work of art, and this dialogue, involving cities from around the world, will offer many more opportunities to build new connections and strengthen existing ties.
Like Ningbo, Laamu Atoll in the Maldives and Port Louis in Mauritius have close ties to the sea and abundant marine resources. Cotonou in Benin, Sihanoukville in Cambodia, and Saida in Lebanon have different port development experiences to share. These cities and regions can exchange ideas with Ningbo on the marine economy, port and shipping logistics, coastal culture and tourism, and more.
Inland cities have distinctive strengths of their own. Errachidia in Morocco lies on the edge of the Sahara and is known for oasis agriculture and desert tourism. Pehčevo in North Macedonia offers forests, waterfalls, and mountain scenery, while Wiener Neustadt in Austria stands out in education, science, and technology. Alajuela in Costa Rica, along with Hermel and Majdelyoun in Lebanon, can also explore opportunities for exchanges with Ningbo in modern agriculture, distinctive local industries, nature-based and cultural tourism, and urban development.
Some cities have maintained ties with Ningbo for decades; others may forge new connections through this dialogue. Their different geographies, industrial strengths, and cultural traditions give them more to share—and more to learn from one another.
When their representatives arrive in Ningbo, they will bring their own experiences and find familiar topics to discuss. From maritime development to cultural preservation and international exchange, cities from across the globe will explore new ways to move forward together.
