MAYOR of Kingston Desmond McKenzie has accepted an invitation to visit the municipality of Shenzhen in China from that city’s vice-mayor Chen Yingchun.

The visit would be made to strengthen ties between the two cities, and Mayor McKenzie pointed out that he might travel to the Asian city as soon as January of next year.

He said that in discussions with Yingchun, both explored the possibility of enhancing relationships. “We spoke of areas of culture and other social and civic benefits to both municipalities,” said McKenzie.

The meeting was held prior to a general meeting in the conference room of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) offices in downtown Kingston, which was attended by a nine-member delegation from Shenzhen, as well as a number of councillors from various divisions in the Corporate Area.

Vice-Mayor Yingchun told the meeting that the more than 10-year association between the two municipalities, which began under the administration of the previous mayor, Marie Atkins, had been strengthened through the efforts of the present and past governments.

“We cherish the relationship between these two cities because it is a very substantial part of the good relationship between Jamaica and China,” the vice-mayor said.

He said that although the two cities were distant geographically, they shared “the same pressures from the municipality management, the challenge of the traffic and the challenge of social security”.

The vice-mayor said that in order to further solidify the relationship between the countries, increased co-operation and communication would be necessary.

The Chinese delegation toured sections of Kingston, with scheduled visits to the money museum at the Bank of Jamaica, the National Gallery, the Bob Marley Museum, and the Chinese Benevolent Society.

According to McKenzie, more than 70 per cent of the Chinese community in Jamaica resided in Kingston, and he lauded the efforts being made by the Jamaican government to redevelop the area once known as Chinatown in downtown Kingston.