Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (L) shakes hands with Xu Zongheng, the mayor of Shenzhen in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong province, Oct. 29, 2006. Johnson-Sirleaf will spend two days in Shenzhen.(Xinhua Photo)
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Sunday visited Shenzhen, a special economic zone in south China’s Guangdong Province. Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng briefed the president in a meeting about the social and economic development of the city. Xu said over the past 26 years, Shenzhen has developed from a small border village into a metropolis with an annual GDP exceeding 500 billion yuan, ranking the third in Chinese cities. Shenzhen is willing to strengthen cooperation with Liberia in various fields, particularly in economy, Xu noted. Johnson-Sirleaf said she hoped a province of Liberia could establish sisterhood with Shenzhen and promote the economic collaboration between Shenzhen and Liberia. She stressed her purpose to visit Shenzhen was mainly to draw on experience from it in boosting local economy. Johnson-Sirleaf also told Xu about Liberia’s policies to attract foreign investment, its fiscal and monetary policies, and its mineral and natural resources. The Liberian president is paying a state visit to China on the sidelines of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be opened on Nov. 4. She will be present at the summit.