The words for May 20 (wuerling) and "I Love You (woaini)" are homophones in Chinese language. So, how good it was that on such a romantic day, the cute "giant panda" joined hands with charming "koala." |
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This was the 6th time that Mr. Tate has led a delegation to Chengdu. Before the signing of the agreement, he made a unique gesture of "devotion." To express his warm affection for Chengdu, Mayor Tate, holding up his right hand amusingly, made a popular on-line "hand on heart" gesture. In this way, the Mayor announced : "Chengdu, I Love You!" During the interview session with journalists, he expressed his view that the Chengdu-Gold Coast relationship is like relationship between giant panda and koala. The Mayor was also full of expectation that this Gold Coast-Chengdu friendly collaboration would become an exemplar of Sino-Australia exchanges and collaboration.
Review: Mayor Tate was most proud of the fruitful Gold Coast –Chengdu education and medical collaboration outcomes and looking forward to shaping Gold Coast –Chengdu relationship an exemplar of Sino-Australian local government exchanges |
In the field of education, Chengdu City and Gold Coast City co-hosted a series of exchanges events including- China Chengdu-Australia Gold Coast Panda · Koala Sculpture Design Competition and Queensland Cup "Best of Chengdu" Teen Video Contest. A framework agreement for education collaboration was also signed between the two sides, furthering two-way youth friendly exchange visits and deepening Chengdu -Gold Coast friendship. At the same time, West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Sichuan Normal University and Chengdu Sport Institute have each forged long-term cooperative relationships with Australian Griffith University. "It is my sincere hope that Chengdu-Gold Coast friendship will continuously develop through interactive exchanges among young students. I am confident of the benefits from this, " said Tate.
In the field of medicine, Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals Inc collaborated with the Griffith University. The two sides co-established "The Joint Laboratory of Vaccine Development," co-dedicated to Group A streptococcus vaccine-GAS vaccine project collaboration. "I am most proud of the ongoing Gold Coast –Chengdu medical research collaboration outcomes. " According to Mayor Tate, Gold Coast City is home to world –leading medical R&D institutions and Chengdu houses its own highly competent R&D institutions and pharmaceutical companies. In particular, Chengdu enjoys excellent capacity for the transformation of science and technology initiatives into practical applications. "With the unfolding of this bilateral collaboration, the original transformation time for vaccine achievements that were expected to take 10 years will be reduced to 3 years, saving 7 years time. Perhaps, this will save tens of thousands of people's life or alleviate patients' pain, a significant achievement indeed."
The Gold Coast –Chengdu Sister City relationship has been forged building on the sound basis of friendly and cooperative relationship. Mayor Tate was deeply gratified with that. "We sincerely hope that through our joint efforts, we could shape Gold Coast –Chengdu friendly relationship to stand as an exemplar of Sino-Australian local government exchanges."
Looking forward to future collaboration: Mayor Tate was looking forward to the opening of the Gold Coast –Chengdu direct air route and hoped to set up a "Koala Garden" in Chengdu |
In addition, Chengdu's urban plan also left the Mayor with a deep impression. "I learned that Chengdu's 2nd airport is under construction. Following its completion, Chengdu will become only the 3rd Chinese city having duel airports after Beijing and Shanghai. This will be very advantageous for Chengdu's development."
Looking forward to future collaboration, Mayor Tate maintained that education and medical care should also be collaboration priorities. In the meantime, he was looking forward to the opening of Gold Coast –Chengdu direct air route, furthering two-way friendly exchanges and collaboration between the two sides.
It's well worth mentioning that Mayor Tate expects to set up a "koala garden" in Chengdu. "Gold Coast has a koala conservation and research center and we are very willing to send koalas as a gift to Chengdu. Of course, we will need to plant eucalyptus in Chengdu to provide food for the koala."
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A pair of "friends" who share so many similarities
Both are Web celebrity cities: Gold Coast has the charming koala Chengdu is home to the cute giant panda, China's national treasure |
Each enjoys a highly livable environment: Gold Coast has a 57-km-long coast line Chengdu has the 16900-km-long Tianfu greenway
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Outstanding tourist attractions: Gold Coast has several theme parks Chengdu features its ancient towns
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Appealing food paradises: Gold Coast people really enjoy tasty sea food Chengdu people indulge themselves with spicy food
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Sports paradise: Gold Coast is a gathering place for surfers Chengdu Jiangtan Park attracts large number of skater boys
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来源:国际蓉