The opening ceremony of the Shandong-Brittany Friendship Exchange Year and the Sino-French forum on the protection and development of geographical indications was held in Jining, Shandong province on June 27.

The opening ceremony of the Shandong-Brittany Friendship Exchange Year is held on June 27 in Jining. [Photo/Dazhong News]

Brittany is a diverse region in northwestern France and a historic country with a distinct identity. In 1985, Brittany established a sister relationship with Shandong, the first of its kind in Europe. Since then, the two sides have carried out close exchanges and established extensive and  strengthened cooperation in the fields of economics and trade, agriculture, education, sports, culture, science and technology.

Over the past 37 years, Shandong and Brittany have continuously deepened mutual trust, enhanced exchanges and cooperation and achieved fruitful results under the guidance of the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries, said Li Ganjie, Party chief of Shandong.

Li expressed hope that the two sides will continue their friendship, jointly create a model of cooperation between local sister cities of China and France, as well as make more and greater contributions to the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France.

The event is held via both online and offline channels. [Photo/Dazhong News]

The two sides signed the joint statement on further deepening friendly relations and strengthening exchanges and cooperation in key areas. The memorandum on jointly building a "ecological peninsula" cooperation platform, and the action plan on strengthening youth exchanges and deepening cooperation in the field of education were also inked.

The Sino-French forum on the protection and development of geographical indications was held on June 28 in Jinan, the provincial capital. Over the years, China and France have maintained good cooperative relations in the field of intellectual property.

Participants attend the friendship and exchange event in Shandong province. [Photo/Dazhong News]