SHENZHEN is a vast coastal industrial city in Southern China with a population estimated around 15 million.

For some reason someone has decided they have a lot in common with our landlocked Capital city of 300,000 and we need to forge closer ties despite an existing sister city relationship with Beijing.

To that end last week the Chief Minister signed a novel document (Google suggests it is the only one of its kind) with the Mayor of that vast city.

We’ve been asking to see the “Memorandum of Friendship Exchange and Economic Cooperation between the City of Shenzhen of the People’s Republic of China and the City of Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory of Australia” ever since and today the Chief’s office have been kind enough to point us at the Invest Canberra .com website which is hosting the document.

At two pages it’s on the skinny side and mostly just commits us to exchanges and the promotion of those exchanges.

It looks like Canberra will be getting an “International Relationships Office” which sounds like nice work if you can get it.

“Shenzhencity” by Montage by JHH755, later versions improved by Lzy881114, source image authors stated above – All CC/PD sources:File:ShenZhen at night.jpg (Xublake)File:Shenzhen North Railway Station West Square View.JPG (Livewireshock). Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.