Li Xiaoping, director of Xiamen's Foreign Affairs Office, met with Douglas Sparks, president of the City Friendship Association in Sarasota, a port city in the state of Florida , USA on Sept 3 in Xiamen, Fujian province.

Li extended a warm welcome to Sparks and briefed him on the city's current situation.

He said that Xiamen is one of the first special economic zones in China and recently laid out plans to become a so-called "innovative garden city".

Siming is a central district in Xiamen and is interested in cooperating with Sarasota in terms of both tourism and education.

He also invited a delegation from Sarasota to the 2020 Xiamen International Teen Football.

Sparks said that it is his first visit to Xiamen and the costal city left a good impression on him.

In 2007, Sarasota established sister-city relations with Xiamen's Siming district. Considered to be Florida's cultural center along the coast, Sarasota is home to numerous cultural venues, botanical gardens, and stunning beaches.

Li Xiaoping (third from right), director of Xiamen's Foreign Affairs Office, meets with Douglas Sparks (third from left), president of the City Friendship Association in Sarasota, a port city in the state of Florida, USA on Sept 3 in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo/fao.xm.gov.cn]