I. Innovation in online and offline foreign exchanges
1. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office, Guiyang Culture and Tourism Bureau and ASEAN-Guizhou (Guiyang) Tourism Culture Promotion Center co-held the 2020 ASEAN (Guiyang) Belt and Road Culture and Tourism Exchange Week, inviting diplomats and representatives from 26 ASEAN members and countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
2. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office helped Guiyang Bureau of Commerce hold the 2020 Guiyang Import and Export Online Fair. The event received congratulatory video messages from Japan, France, Demark, Israel and Spain's consulates general in Southwest China.
II. Prevention and control of the novel coronavirus
1. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office established a special work team to manage the novel coronavirus prevention and control measures for overseas passengers.
2. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office held several meetings to prepare for the resumption of international flights.
III. Cooperation with the international community on epidemic control
1. Guiyang's healthcare and education departments received more than 40,000 masks from three Japan-China friendship associations in Japan. The city also received support from sister cities to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
2. Guiyang donated 190,000 masks, 10,000 pairs of disposable medical gloves and 6,000 goggles to 11 international cities and organizations.
3. Guiyang held a video conference to share its experience in epidemic prevention and control with Vicenza city in Italy. The online meeting was widely reported by Italian media outlets, the Chinese embassy in Italy, the Chinese consulate general in Milan and the Italian consulate general in Chongqing.
4. Guiyang shared its epidemic prevention and control experience and work resumption progress at a video conference with members of the United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific.
5. Guiyang, the International Department of the CPC Central Committee and Argentina co-held a video seminar. During the meeting, Guiyang introduced its efforts in epidemic prevention and control, economic development, poverty alleviation and ecological civilization construction with Argentina.
IV. Promotion of work resumption
1. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office assisted the business trips of workers from Guizhou Tyre Co to Vietnam to ensure the construction of tire production lines.
2. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office prepared work visas for 10 German technicians, who were to construct the Sino-Germany pump track industrial park in Guiyang.
3. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office issued invitation letters for Guiyang companies' foreign employees to come to China.
V. International cooperation in various areas
1. Guiyang cooperated with the Japanese consulate general in Chongqing and Japanese cultural organizations to hold exhibitions themed around Japanese ikebana (the art of flower arrangement), haiga (paintings accompanied by haiku poems) and kodo (art of incense listening).
2. Japanese representatives in China visited Guiyang to seek business cooperation opportunities.
3. Representatives from Germany inspected Guiyang's big data industry, artificial intelligence technology and hydrogen energy source industry.
4. Representatives from Israel, Demark, Malaysia, Europe and Latin America visited Guiyang.
VI. Establishment of friendly relationships with more countries
1. Guiyang and Vicenza started the process of establishing a friendly relationship.
2. Guiyang became Guizhou's first city to join the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) organization.
3. Guiyang enhanced its relationship with the city of Fort Worth in the United States, Palmerston North in New Zealand and the city of Burnaby in Canada. Guiyang also refreshed its relationship with Marianske Lazne in the Czech Republic and the State of Penang in Malaysia and began establishing a friendly relationship with Gottingen city and Bottrop city in Germany.
4. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office participated in "The Future in Our Roots Contest 2020 edition" held by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the OBOR Italian Institute and Italian media Discover People/Places. One staff member won the first-place prize in the "China and Italy's Friendship" category.
VII. Improving Guiyang's international reputation
Guiyang Foreign Affairs edited and published the 15th to 18th issues of Guiyang Today. The publication covered Guiyang's government work report, international cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic, construction of a pilot area for an inland open economy, the high-quality development and investment attraction of Guiyang and Guian New Area, and Guiyang's achievements during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).
VIII. Optimizing the business environment
1. Guiyang issued guidance to regulate foreign-language signs in public places, aiming to provide a convenient living environment for people from other countries.
2. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office investigated the city's services for foreign residents and learned from other cities' experience.
IX. Enhancing training for foreign affairs officials
1. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office organized various training sessions to improve the work ability of its officials.
2. Guiyang Foreign Affairs Office held three seminars, two salons and one translation contest in Japanese and another in English at Guizhou University, which prepared foreign-language volunteers for Guiyang's major international events in the future.