TO: RULES AND OPEN FROM: Mayor Matt Mahan
GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei
Councilmember Pam Foley
SUBJECT: Shenzhen Sister City Affiliation DATE: February 15, 2024 Approved
RECOMMENDATION:
Direct the City Manager’s Office to:
1. Return to Council on March 5, 2024 with a recommendation to approve a Sister City affiliation with Shenzhen, China and,
2. Work with the Mayor’s Office to identify non-profit community partners that can help provide fundraising and community building capacity for the Sister City relationship.
BACKGROUND:
California is home to more than 2 million Chinese Americans - more than any other state - with more than seventy-five thousand Chinese Americans in San José alone. California and China’s economies generate $166 billion in trade activity with each other, making China California’s largest trading partner. San José has also seen significant investment from Chinese companies such as ByteDance that have created hundreds of local jobs.
Governor Gavin Newsom visited China in October of 2023 to strengthen relationships and forge cooperative partnerships on issues from climate action to economic development and tourism. After that visit, the Governor’s Office reached out directly to the Mayor’s Office to encourage a sister city relationship between San José and Shenzhen.
Located in the Chinese province of Guangdong, Shenzhen is a fast-growing city with over 17.5 million people. Like San José, Shenzhen is known for innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, a robust high tech and startup industry, and manufacturing.
RULES COMMITTEE: 2/21/2024
ITEM: C.2
Establishing a Sister City relationship with Shenzhen presents a tremendous opportunity to build educational, cultural, and economic ties that will benefit both cities. With our educational, community, and corporate partners, we can focus on sharing knowledge, creating jobs, and spurring investment in both cities. Because San José’s Chinese American community supports stronger relationships with China, we believe a local or regional non-profit could help shoulder the cost and logistical effort needed to sustain a Sister City relationship.
The signers of this memorandum have not had, and will not have, any private conversation with any other member of the City Council, or that member’s staff, concerning any action discussed in the memorandum, and that each signer’s staff members have not had, and have been instructed not to have, any such conversation with any other member of the City Council or that member's staff.