HAIKOU, /China/, August 18. /TASS/. The resort city of Sanya in the southern Chinese province of Hainan and the city of Karakol in eastern Kyrgyzstan have expressed their intention to establish a sister-city relationship, Sanya Ribao reported.

According to the newspaper, Sanya municipal administration deputy head Liu Zhengfu and Karakol mayor Talantbek Imanov recently signed a memorandum of intent to establish sister-city relations. This document is expected to lay the foundation for a long-term, stable partnership between the two cities.

The memorandum stated that the parties will be guided by the principles of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, strengthen their traditional friendship, and expand practical cooperation in areas such as tourism, trade, the economy, culture, and education. In the next phase, the administrations and relevant agencies of the two cities will establish a mechanism for regular exchanges to continuously deepen cooperation across all areas, Sanya Ribao stressed.

The newspaper recalled that in 2017, Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Region signed a protocol of intent with Hainan to develop bilateral cooperation. A sister-city relationship with Karakol, an important tourist hub, will bring Sanya closer to other Central Asian cities and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.