People attend the 5th AsiaMatters Business Summit Cork in Cork, Ireland, May 23, 2019. A seminar on strengthening the bilateral relations between China and Ireland, particularly the business ties at local levels, opened in southern Irish city of Cork on Thursday. (Xinhua)

DUBLIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A seminar aimed at strengthening the bilateral relations, particularly the business ties between China and Ireland at local levels, opened in southern Irish city of Cork on Thursday.

Nearly one hundred people including senior government officials, diplomats, business leaders and experts from both sides attended the opening session of the seminar held at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT).

During the two-day seminar, delegates will mainly focus on the topics on how to enhance the cooperation in the fields of technology and innovation, and food and agriculture between County Cork and Cork City and their respective Chinese sister cities.

Wuxi City of east China's Jiangsu Province which has twinned with County Cork sent to the seminar an 11-member delegation headed by Zhou Minwei, Chairman of Wuxi Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, while five officials from Minhang District of Shanghai, a sister city of Cork City, also attended the seminar.

In a key-note speech, Song Jingwu, Vice President of The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), said that in recent years notable progress has been achieved in the exchanges and cooperation between the local governments of China and Ireland, which forms an important part of the bilateral ties between the two countries.

So far seven Chinese provinces and cities have been twinned with Irish counties and cities, he said, adding that CPAFFC is willing to avail the opportunity of this year which marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between China and Ireland to further promote the practical cooperation between the local governments of the two sides.

In her welcoming speech, Ann Doherty, Chief Executive of Cork City Council, said that Cork's formal inter-city relations consist of six sister cities including Shanghai and three cooperation cities, all in China, namely Wuxi, Hangzhou and Shenzhen.

"Our partnerships allow Cork to project itself internationally, using so-called soft power. This means using its assets -- educational, cultural, scenic, quality of life, economic diversity -- to sell Cork and, therein, attract talent and investment to the city and region," she said, adding that she looks forward to a long partnership between Cork and China.

Entitled The 5th AsiaMatters Business Summit Cork, the seminar is organized by AsiaMatters, a Dublin-based think tank focusing on connecting Ireland with Asian countries, in collaboration with Cork County Council and Cork City Council among other sponsors.