In commemoration of the 20^th anniversary of the twinning of the cities of Shanghai and Montreal, Mayor Han Zheng of Shanghai, at the invitation of the Municipal Government of Montreal, led a delegation to visit Montreal and Quebec City from April 6 to 7. Ambassador Lu Shumin accompanied the delegation during the visit.

During his visit to Montreal, Mayor Han met with Premier of Quebec Jean Charest and Mayor of Montreal Gerald Tremblay respectively. Expressing satisfaction over the smooth development of the bilateral relations between Shanghai and Montreal in the past two decades, both sides agreed that such cooperation has brought about a win-win arrangement, to the mutual benefits to both cities and their citizens. They went on to express their continuous commitment to deepening such friendly and cooperative relations with a view to broader areas of cooperation, more notable results and even better bilateral relations. Mayor Han and his entourage also visited the world-famous Montreal underground shopping center with great interest, during which they expressed appreciation for its people-centered design and state-of-the-art construction. Mayor Han Zheng later joined Mayor Tremblay to preside over a ceremony during which Shanghai donated books to Montreal.

Besides, Mayor Han also paid courtesy calls on former Canadian Prime Minister the Right Honorable Jean Chretien and Andre Desmarais, President of Power Corporation and concurrently President of Canada-China Business Council. From April 8 to 11, Mayor Han will continue his visit to Toronto and Vancouver.