Recently, Hambantota of Sri Lanka signed a sister city agreement with Guangzhou and became Guangzhou's 20th international sister-city and its first sister-city in the South Asian region.

On February 27, the "Agreement For the Establishment of A Sister-City Relationship between Guangzhou of the People's Republic of China and Hambantota of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" was signed in Beijing between the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Assistant Cui Tiankai and Permanent Secretary of Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hambantota district (Sri Lanka's administrative divisions are classified as "provinces, districts and cities"; the grade of a "district" is higher than that of a "City") is now a new international partner of Guangzhou. The establishment of the relationship will further increase Guangzhou's reputation and influence in the South Asian region.

Editor: Yan