Chinese pavilion in Tacoma, Wash., highlights ties between Chinese and US cities

World Today

City-to-city exchanges and cooperation have played an important role in bilateral relations between China and the United States. Since formal diplomatic relations between the two nations were established in 1979, more than 200 cities on both sides have established sister-city agreements. An intricate Chinese pavilion in Tacoma, Wash., is just one example of these ties.

More than 20 ago, President Xi Jinping, then secretary of the CPC Fuzhou Committee, first visited Tacoma and contributed to the establishment of the sister-city relationship between Tacoma and Fuzhou, the capital of southeast China’s Fujian province.

Since 1994, both cities have held a variety of economic, cultural, and educational exchanges, and Tacoma has hosted more than 30 delegations from Fuzhou, one of which guided the construction of Fuzhou Ting, a traditional wooden-beamed pavilion, as a gift from the people of Fuzhou in 2010.

After it was completed the following year in Chinese Reconciliation Park, Fuzhou Ting has since become a cultural attraction on Tacoma’s waterfront, as well as a unique landmark that bears witness to the friendship between Tacoma and Fuzhou.

President Xi will travel to Tacoma again on September 23 during his upcoming U.S. visit where he will visit Lincoln High School.