"We hope to leverage our local networks, connections, and language skills to help Guangdong businesses and culture grow in Peru," said Liang Shun, former chairman of Sociedad Central de Beneficencia China (Ton Huy Chong Koc), in a recent interview with South in Guangzhou as the Guangdong People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (GDPAFFC) marks its 70th anniversary.
Drawing on his years in Peru, Liang said people-to-people exchanges could help build closer ties between Guangdong and Peru.
Building ties through people-to-people exchanges
Chinese communities have lived in Peru for more than 170 years, with most of the country's Chinese immigrants tracing their roots to Guangdong.
Liang has spent years helping with exchanges between Guangdong and Peru. He said GDPAFFC had helped Chinese communities return to their hometowns and promoted people-to-people exchanges, while also helping Guangdong businesses connect with different sectors of Peruvian society.
For Liang, local networks and personal connections have been important to his work in Peru.
From Kaiping to Cusco
The sister-city relationship between Kaiping in Guangdong and Cusco in Peru took eight years to establish.
In 2017, Liang received a letter from the then mayor of Kaiping asking him to help promote a sister-city relationship with Cusco. He then contacted the mayor of Cusco through various channels, and the proposal initially received support.
The process ran into difficulties along the way. At one point, the Peruvian consul general in Guangzhou questioned whether the two cities, which differed greatly in size, were a suitable match, Liang recalled. The process later moved forward with the support of a new consul.
Liang kept working on the process, and in 2025 Kaiping and Cusco formally established their sister-city relationship.
Cusco sent several deputy mayors to attend the signing of a memorandum, while the mayor later came in person to sign the agreement.
"For me, it fulfilled a wish I had held for many years," Liang said.
Both Kaiping and Cusco are home to UNESCO World Heritage sites. Liang said their shared cultural heritage could provide more opportunities for exchanges between the two cities.
"We hope people on both sides will have more chances to learn about and experience each other's cultures," he said.
More room for business and cultural exchange
With the support of GDPAFFC and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), the two sides completed the formal procedures for the sister-city relationship.
The relationship has already brought more opportunities for exchanges. When the mayor of Cusco visited China, Liang took him to several companies in Kaiping and also to Huawei. The visit left a strong impression on the mayor.
Exchanges between Cusco and Guangdong remain limited, but Liang said people in Cusco were keen to learn more about China's development, particularly in Guangdong.
Coffee is another area where Liang sees potential. Kaiping's coffee industry has been developing, while Cusco has one too. Before his recent return to China, Liang visited local coffee producers in Cusco with the mayor and city councilors.
Liang hopes the sister-city relationship will lead to more exchanges of products and culture between the two sides.
Reporter: Yao Jingsen
Video: Deng Yingheng
Script: Yao Jingsen
Video editor: Xu Anrui
