At the invitation of Foreign Affairs Office of Shenyang Municipal People’s Government， Councillor Kevin Watkins of Hastings, New Zealand visited Shenyang from Oct 18th to 21st.He met with Mr.Zhao Shengling, Deputy Secretary General of Shenyang Municipal People’s Government, and they jointly signed Letter of Intent on the Establishment of Friendly and Cooperative Relations Between Shenyang City of the People’s Republic of China and Hastings District of New Zealand. Both sides gave a review on the major accomplishments of previous cooperation and then reached agreement on future endeavour to promote people-to-people exchanges and to strengthen continuous collaboration in areas including trade, agriculture, culture, education and tourism.  

During his stay, Councillor Watkins visited Shenyang Foreign Service School for a discussion in cooperation opportunities in vocational education, where he attended theory learning classes and hands-on training classes in Chinese cuisine, Chinese pastries, western Cuisine, tea culture and hospitality.Afterwards, he visited the exhibition center and workshop of SIASUN Robot & Automation Co., Ltd.and gained in depth understanding about the overall business and overseas presence of this leading tech giant. Councillor Watkins also visited Shenyang Imperial Palace and Former Residence of Zhang Xueliang, where he marveled at the profound history and explored opportunities for cultural cooperation in future.

Hastings is located in the Hawkes Bay area on the North Island of New Zealand, with a population of 93，000 and an area of 5,200 square kilometers. Over recent years, Shenyang and Hastings have collaborated in a series of events in culture and education and achieved remarkable results.