SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. city of San Francisco on Friday held a flag-raising ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), with renewed commitment to boosting overall relations with the Chinese side.
With the Chinese National Flag flying over the City Hall, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Wang Donghua said the flag-raising ceremony, which has taken place every year over the past decades, is a symbol of the long-standing friendship between China and San Francisco.
He thanked the San Francisco city government for declaring this year's Oct. 1 as the China-American Friendship and Heritage Day, saying this reflects the importance the government of San Francisco attaches to the amity and cooperation between the two countries and two peoples.
Wang said San Francisco is the sister city with China's Shanghai, and such a relationship "is the first of kind in China and the United State."
"More progress has been made in advancing the exchanges and cooperation between San Francisco and China," said the Chinese senior diplomat, who reaffirmed China's willingness to enhance the existing exchanges and to bring the cooperation to a new high.
Wang noted that both China and the United States have benefited enormously from each other's cooperation, which is in the best interests of the two countries and two peoples.
Charlotte Shultz, chief of protocol of San Francisco Mayor's Office, who spoke on behalf of San Francisco Mayor London Breed at Friday's ceremony, said cooperation between San Francisco and China has brought millions of U.S. dollars and business to this city.
She said there have been lots of exchanges between San Francisco and China, particularly Shanghai, with which San Francisco is going to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the sister city relationship between the two cities next year.
Mark Chandler, director of the Mayor's Office of International Trade and Commerce, said San Francisco was the only city in the United States that participated in the Shanghai Expo in 2010 with a 300-strong delegation, which "incredibly enriched" the two cities' relationship.
The San Francisco officials expressed their commitment to strengthening the city's sub-national and cooperative relations with their Chinese partners.
