MAYOR OF NOVI SAD HOSTED A DELEGATION FROM THE CITY OF XINYU FROM THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Mayor of Novi Sad Mr. Žarko Mićin hosted at the City Hall today an official delegation from the Chinese city of Xinyu, led by the Deputy Mayor Mr. He Lihua. During the meeting, held in the City Council Hall, the possibilities of establishing cooperation in the areas of economy, sports, culture and education were discussed, as well as of the establishment of twin city relations. Both sides expressed their readiness to strengthen mutual ties and exchange experiences in various sectors.

- It is a great pleasure for me and my associates to host the delegation from the city of Xinyu today and to discuss concrete establishment of cooperation in several areas. The city of Xinyu is a Chinese city that is a symbol of industrial development and innovation, and Novi Sad is the European Capital of Culture, European Youth Capital, the city of IT industry with a strong economy, a strong tourism hub, and I am convinced that by working together we can build a strong partnership. Excellent relations and steel friendship of our two countires are also reflected in the relations between the cities of our two nations, so today we also discussed close cooperation and formalization of relations between Novi Sad and Xinyu. I hope that we will become twin cities to our mutual satisfaction and that our citizens will be the ones to primarily benefit from this exchange and cooperation – said Mayor Mićin, emphasizing that Novi Sad has excellent cooperation with several cities in China, and that Chinese companies are building three new bridges, and that by the end of the year, the automotive industry SHAC will open its first factory in Europe in Novi Sad.

Deputy Mayor Mr. He Lihua preseted to his hosts some of the main properties and potentials of Xinyu, which is located in the central-western part of China's Jiangxi Province, and is an important industrial and technological center with over 1.2 million inhabitants. He pointed out that the city is known for its strong industrial development, high urbanization rate and rapid development of digital economy.

- Xinyu is implementing numerous reforms and strategic initiatives aimed at innovation, smart and green industry, as well as the integration of urban and rural areas. By investing in infrastructure, education and digital transformation, Xinyu strives to become a leading model of a modern Chinese city for the new era - said Mr. He Lihua, who thanked for the hospitality on behalf of the entire delegation and expressed hope that the cooperation between the two cities will be fruitful.

The interlocutors concluded that the City of Novi Sad and the City of Xinyu will continue their communication with the aim of concretizing cooperation and possibly signing in future a Memorandum of Understanding on twinning.

The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Education and Sports of the City of Xinyu Mr. Li Bihai, Deputy Director of the Management Committee for the Wilin Lake Area of the City of Xinyu Mr. Wan Yonghua, Mr. Lu Zhichao from the Bureau of Commerce of the City of Xinyu, as well as Mrs. Liu Cuiting from the Center for Foreign Affairs of the City of Xinyu. The delegation of Novi Sad, together with the Mayor, consisted of the member of the City Council for Sports and Youth Mrs. Tatjana Medved, member of the City Council for Culture Mrs. Maja Čeremidžić Šainović, member of the City Council for Finance Mr. Dragan Marinković, Assistant to the Mayor Mr. Aleksandar Petrović and Advisor to the Mayor for relations with PRC Mr. Siniša Stojšin.

In Novi Sad, September 22nd 2025