20 Jul 2026 Council meeting Governance

Friendship City Relationship between the City of Nanaimo and Yangzhou, China

Motion
That Council: 1. Approve the establishment of a Friendship City relationship between the City of Nanaimo and Yangzhou, China; 2. Approve the attached Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Nanaimo and the City of Yangzhou for a five-year term; and 3. Authorize the Mayor to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the City of Nanaimo.
Minutes, page 7
Sources
Agenda itemCity agenda, whole meeting
Staff reportPage 1
Purpose
To seek Council approval to establish a Friendship City relationship between the City of Nanaimo and Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, in accordance with the Friendship City Policy.
Staff report, page 1
Staff recommendation
That Council: 1. Approve the establishment of a Friendship City relationship between the City of Nanaimo and Yangzhou, China; 2. Approve the attached Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Nanaimo and the City of Yangzhou for a five-year term; and 3. Authorize the Mayor to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the City of Nanaimo.
Staff report, page 1

Paul Manly Yes

Great. Thanks. I really appreciate having, uh, local organisation that's leading it. And it's not costing the city in Doxbury or anything.

Ian Thorpe Yes

Councillor Thorpe actually beat you to it. Thank you very much, your worship through you, if I may. Thanks, Ms. Manhouse, for your work on this. Um, the first thing that stood out to me as Councillor Manley just pointed out was no financial cost to the city. I think that's, that's worth repeating for the viewers tonight. Um, secondly, I'm certainly reminded of the recent visit we had from the Japanese delegation from Saitama and how positive that was. And the good relations that I think have developed from that already, the reality is we have a large number of Chinese Canadians in our community and they absolutely enrich our city with their contributions. The Chinese cultural society is very active and we appreciate their work. Um, I just think this is a good fit. The world is a much smaller place than it used to be thanks to technology. So I think this raises our city's profile in terms of cultural and economic contacts and can only benefit us. And I'll also point out you're worship. And I think it is mentioned in the report that VIU depends to a fair extent on international students.