Shenzhen city and Christchurch city in New Zealand have been upgraded to sister cities.

On June 10, the Mayor of Shenzhen, Qin Weizhong, and the Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand, Phil Major, signed an agreement to establish a sister city relationship in Shenzhen. The relationship between the two cities has officially been upgraded from friendly exchange cities to sister cities. Prior to the signing ceremony, Qin Weizhong met with Phil Major and his delegation. He mentioned that China and New Zealand are comprehensive strategic partners, and Shenzhen and Christchurch have maintained close exchanges. Since the establishment of friendly exchange city relationship in 2015, the two cities have engaged in extensive cooperation in areas such as education, culture, tourism, and economic trade, achieving positive results. This year marks the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan" and the year in which the 33rd APEC Leaders' Informal Meeting will be held in Shenzhen. Shenzhen will conscientiously implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, further strengthen friendly exchanges and practical cooperation in various fields between the two cities, deepen mutual understanding, enhance friendship, and work hand in hand to create a new model of local cooperation between China and New Zealand. (Shenzhen release)