Cooperation between the capital of Tatarstan and Chinese Guangzhou was discussed in the Executive Committee of Kazan.

The parties are interested in cooperation in the field of sports and tourism.

Today, representatives of the Executive Committee of Kazan met with a delegation from Guangzhou (China) in the city Hall of Kazan. The parties discussed the prospects of cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports.

First deputy head of the Executive Committee of Kazan Rustem Gafarov addressed the guests from China with a welcoming speech. He reminded that the cooperation of Kazan with the cities of the People's Republic of China is built mainly on the basis of agreements on the establishment of twin towns. Presently, the agreements are concluded with such Chinese cities as Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chengdu. "These agreements allow us to cooperate and exchange experience in a variety of areas, including urban development, housing, preservation of architectural and historical monuments," said R. Gafarov.

He also noted that the development of tourism is of great importance for both countries. Thus, in 2018, Kazan was visited by 12578 residents of China, 2330 came with the purpose of tourism. "The prospects for mutually beneficial relations between our regions are huge, and I think that soon we will reach a qualitatively new level of the partnership," Gafarov said.

The deputy inspector of the Department of the physical culture and sports of Guangzhou Mao Jihong noted that Kazan is a very beautiful city, which holds the status of "the sports capital". "Your city is rich in cultural and historical heritage, but sport occupies a special place in the development of Kazan. You can be proud of your sports schools and clubs, known all over the world", - said M. Jihong. She also noted that China, like Kazan, pays a great attention to the development of sports. In particular, China hosted the summer Olympic games in 2008, the summer Universiade in 2011, and Beijing will become the capital of the winter Olympics in 2022.

Along with martial arts, Guangzhou pays great attention to the development of football. The city’s football club is "Guangzhou Energrand Taobao".

Director of the Committee for tourism development of Kazan Daria Sannikova proposed to hold a match between one of the Kazan teams and the Guangzhou club. "We will officially address you with this request. This match would also contribute to cooperation in the field of tourism – the fans of your team would be able to come to Kazan and get acquainted with our tourist potential," Daria Sannikova stated.

Photo report

Meeting with a delegation from Guangzhou, 23.09.2019