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Council Chairman Ron Littlefield celebrates 20th anniversary of relationship with Wuxi, China
 10/16/2002Wuxi, China—City Council Chairman Ron Littlefield met today with Mayor Wang Rong of Wuxi China at a formal meeting to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Wuxi and Chattanooga. The meeting took place at the invitation of Wuxi on the eve of the opening of the International Business Festival, a film festival and tourism festival. The Sister City relationship between Chattanooga and Wuxi began in 1982, under then mayor Pat Rose, with the efforts of Jean Troy and Hugh Jackson for the Sister City Association. Several delegations from the city have visited Wuxi since that time. Previous delegations have been led by former Mayor Gene Roberts, Councilman Yusef Hakeem and Mai Bell Hurley. Councilman Littlefield and Mayor Wang discussed potential investment opportunities and noted the progress that both cities have made in the last twenty years. While Chattanooga has undergone downtown and riverfront development, Wuxi has opened to outside investments and international cooperative projects. Wuxi is one of the 10 major economic centers in China today. It is located in the Yangtze River valley between Shanghai and Nanjing, in the South. It is noted for its beautiful landscape and is situated on the TaihuLake , the third largest lake in China. Last year Wuxi had a GDP of $17 million. Other guests present included the Directory of Foreign Affairs and the Director of Trade and Economic Cooperation for the city of Wuxi. Members of the Chattanooga delegation included Yuen Lee, Director of Information & Research for the city of Chattanooga, Bob Edwards, President of the Sister Cities Association, Bill Prince of UTC, and Eleanor Cooper, author of Grace in China and serving as liaison for arts and culture, and Lanis Littlefield. For more information, contact Todd Womack, Communications Director, at 423-757-5168 ###
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