The signing ceremony of the agreement and bilateral negotiations were held in Smolny on April 4 this year.
From St. Petersburg took part in the discussions, the head of administration of Krasnogvardeysky district of Eugene Razumishkin and Deputy Chairman of the Committee for external relations of St. Petersburg Arbi Abubakarov, from the city of Xiaogan – Chairman of the standing Committee of people's Congress of Xiaogan city, Deputy Secretary of the party Committee of Xiaogan (China) Zhou Sanli.
The parties discussed the prospects of trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as cultural cooperation.
"I am pleased to note that in 2018 the relations between St. Petersburg and Xiaogan significantly intensified. In August, we were visited by a representative delegation of Xiaogan, headed by the Chairman of the Committee on foreign Affairs and tourism, Ms. Yu bin, and in September – a delegation led by Vice-mayor of Xiaogan Wang Shizhong. The result of the negotiations was the signing of the Protocol of establishment of friendly relations between the administration of the Krasnogvardeisky district of St. Petersburg and the city of Xiaogan, Hubei province, as well as specific plans of the Chinese side on the establishment of a plant for the manufacture of auto parts and opening a Tea house in the Krasnogvardeisky district of St. Petersburg," said Arbi Abubakarov.
During the meeting, the parties signed an action plan ("road map") for cooperation between the Administration of the Krasnogvardeysky district of St. Petersburg and the people's Government of Xiaogan for 2019, defining a specific action plan for the implementation of the projects with deadlines and responsible executors from the Russian and Chinese sides.
Arbi Abubakarov also offered the partners to strengthen the tourist cooperation: "We are interested in further increase of tourist flow, including from China. For our part, we are ready to assist in the organization of mutual press tours for journalists and travel companies, as well as to conduct mutual presentations of tourism potential."
Mr. Zhou Xianlai confirmed his readiness to include the tourist destination in the agenda of complex interaction between the Administration of the red guard district of St. Petersburg and the people's Government of Xiaogan and expressed his intention to consolidate the agreements reached in the cooperation Agreement, which is planned to be signed during 2019.