Qingdao's circle of friends expands
China DailyQingdao is an important coastal city in China and one of the first coastal open cities in the country. Recently, Qingdao city in Shandong and the capital of Belarus, Minsk, signed a cooperative agreement, which increased Qingdao's international circle of friends to 89 cities in 50 countries. Qingdao is an important city in China as it benefitted greatly from being one of China's first coastal cities to open up to international trade. Since the SCO Qingdao Summit in 2018, Qingdao has conducted comprehensive exchanges and cooperation with SCO member countries, opening a new chapter in expanding the SCO member countries' circle of friends. In 1995, it became Qingdao's first Germany city to partner with, and in 2016, the two cities officially became sister cities.