TACOMA, the United States, July 19 -- The sixth U.S.-China Sister Cities Summit was held Friday in Tacoma, a port city in western U.S. state of Washington, aimed at deepening friendship and strengthening sub-national exchanges between the two countries.

The summit, themed "Shared Visions for a Brighter Future," is co-sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Sister Cities International, a nonprofit which serves as the national membership organization for individual sister cities, counties, and states across the United States.

Featuring panel discussions, keynote addresses and case studies, the summit brought together more than 140 representatives from over 14 Chinese provinces and more than 100 representatives from 21 U.S. states, to explore shared opportunities, exchange insights, and address common challenges affecting communities in both nations.

Five previous summits were held -- 2014 in Washington, D.C.; 2015 in Chicago; 2016 in Nanchang, China; 2019 in Houston; and 2023 in Suzhou, China.

The establishment of sister city relationship between China and the United States started soon after the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979, when central China's Hubei Province and the U.S. State of Ohio, and eastern China's Nanjing city and the U.S. city of St. Louis, forged sister relationships.

Forty-five years on, China and the United States have built 286 pairs of sister relationship at different levels.

  - Xinhua