To fully implement the spirit of the 7th Plenary Session of the 13th Zibo Municipal Committee of the CPC and create a new pattern of sister-city cooperation, a signing ceremony of the letter of intent for establishing friendly cooperative city relations between Zhoucun District of Zibo and Staraya Russa via video link was held on September 12. Heads of the Tourism and International Relations Committees of Novgorod, and officials of Zhoucun District and Zibo Foreign Affairs Office attended the meeting.

At the meeting, Li Xiaohong, District Mayor of Zhoucun District, and Kamalova, Mayor of Staraya Russa, jointly signed the letter of intent for establishing friendly cooperative city relations between the two sides. Staraya Russa officially became the first foreign city establishing friendly cooperative ties with Zhoucun District. Looking forward, Zibo Foreign Affairs Office will continue to serve as the "bridgehead" for Zibo’s opening-up to the outside world, extensively connect more high-quality international resources, continuously broaden the channels of foreign exchanges for districts and counties, build a platform for foreign cooperation, and contribute to the improvement of a high-level opening-up mechanism.