On October 20, 2025, Vice President Sun Xueqing of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) met with a delegation led by Barry McElduff, Mayor of Fermanagh, from Northern Ireland, UK.
Vice President Sun Xueqing noted that the CPAFFC attaches great importance to advancing practical cooperation and sister-city exchanges with regions across the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. He emphasized that the CPAFFC values its longstanding partnership with the subnational government of Northern Ireland and stands ready to build more bridges for people-to-people exchanges, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges, and youth friendship, with a view to promoting steady and long-term subnational cooperation between China and the UK.
Mayor Barry McElduff expressed his appreciation for the significant role played by the CPAFFC in facilitating subnational cooperation and sister-city exchanges. He provided an overview of Fermanagh's engagement with Huangshi City in Hubei Province and outlined prospects for future collaboration. He reaffirmed the readiness to further deepen friendly relations with China and expand channels for cooperation in areas such as education and culture, in order to share development opportunities.
Lv Hongwei, Deputy Director-General of the Department of European and Asian Affairs of the CPAFFC, and Kerry Curran, Representative of the Northern Ireland subnational government in China, were present at the meeting.
